Previews
by Leonineus
Summary: This is basically a little showground for all the plot bunnies from different universes I have leashed in the rabbit hutch of my mind to see what people think. There will be Naruto, Harry Potter and more here, so check back regularly!
1. Introduction

**(A/N: Right, this is going to be a random set of bits and pieces (I will not be posting everything I have to the story in any case) for stories I have come up with while writing my active ones. I hope you enjoy these oneshots; I'd like to see what people think of the ideas I post. So drop a review and tell me if you like them, okay? If I have stuff to improve on, kindly inform me as to what it is. Enjoy!)**


	2. NarutoxCrysisxHalo: The Iron Herald

**(A/N: Okay folks, this story is going to be a NarutoxCrysisxHalo crossover. The idea came to me soon after finishing the Crysis 2 campaign (which is truly epic for ANYONE who hasn't played it yet), and as with many of my plot bunnies I decided to write it down before the hairy little bastard started eating my frontal lobe.)**

The Iron Herald

Chapter One: The Voices In Your Mind

Naruto Uzumaki was a boy known to the wider population of Konohagakure no Sato as the jinchūriki of the Kyūbi no Kitsune. He himself did not know this, so he had no idea why nobody liked him. Only one person did like him; a fellow orphan by the name of Tenten.

Naruto and Tenten had been friends since they were four. They had first met when a group of older orphans had been bullying Naruto, and Tenten had stepped in. After the boys had been driven off, the pair got to talking and ended up becoming fast friends. When Naruto got less food than everyone else (though neither could come up with a reason why), Tenten shared her own food with him.

When Naruto was thrown out of the orphanage two years later with the cryptic comment tossed after him, "A demon should be able to take care of itself by now", Tenten followed him all the way to the Hokage's office.

Sarutobi had been pleased that Naruto had a friend with the loyalty to storm in and demand to move in with the blond, so he'd set both up with two adjoining apartments and an orphan's stipend.

Over the next two years, the pair became even closer and began to do everything together. The old lady who ran their apartment complex (who had recently moved to Konoha and therefore knew nothing about the Kyūbi's attack other than the attack itself), could frequently be heard telling the other tenants about the cute little couple that lived on the top floor, which always caused Tenten to blush and Naruto to scratch his head sheepishly whenever they heard about it.

-TIH-

One night in late September, the village was quiet except for the occasional ANBU walking patrol along the rooftops when a faint light began moving down through the black sky towards the rear of the Hokage Monument.

Aboard the small craft, a man in black and silver armour turned to one of the consoles and said, "So, where are we now Cortana?"

A female voice replied as a tiny purple-and-white figure appeared on a small pad, **"****I ****am ****unsure. ****The ****geology ****matches ****nowhere ****I ****have ****ever ****seen ****before. ****It ****would ****be ****logical ****to ****assume ****that ****we ****have ****entered ****yet ****another ****dimension.****"**

The man nodded, looking down through the windshield at the village below, "I wonder if the Ceph have reached this world yet? I may have to turn over my armour to someone down there…"

Cortana frowned, **"****Alcatraz****… ****you****'****re ****still ****perfectly ****healthy.****"**

Alcatraz turned to look at Cortana, "You haven't run any kind of deep scans on me, have you?"

Cortana blinked, **"****No, ****but****… ****oh.****"**

Alcatraz nodded, "I don't know when I got it. It might have been when I was fighting the Ceph in my own world, maybe it was when I was flying the Ceph ship out of the system. Maybe I contracted it on the _Forward __Unto __Dawn_. I most likely got it from that Ceph Stalker injecting me with that knockout strain. I don't know; all that matters is that I have some kind of illness which is slowly killing me."

Cortana narrowed her eyes as she concentrated on Alcatraz, **"****My ****scan ****reads ****it ****as ****being ****lung ****cancer. ****Oddly, ****you ****haven****'****t ****demonstrated ****any ****kind ****of ****symptoms ****yet ****even ****though ****it****'****s ****supposed ****to ****be ****in ****the ****late ****stages****…"**

She was interrupted by Alcatraz suddenly ripping off his helmet and bending over. There was a soft sound as blood spattered the floor. Cortana gave a soft sigh of worry, **"****I ****don****'****t ****want ****to ****lose ****my ****second ****partner, ****Alcatraz. ****I ****already ****lost ****John ****to ****the ****failure ****of ****his ****cryo-pod. ****It****'****s ****part ****of ****the ****reason ****I ****went ****with ****you ****after ****you ****came ****to ****the **_**Forward **__**Unto **__**Dawn**_**, ****having ****brought ****his ****shield ****emitter ****along ****and ****integrated ****it ****into ****your ****suit.****"**

Alcatraz raised his head and wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of one gauntleted hand, "Don't worry Cortana. Chances are I'm not going to die for a while yet…"

-TIH-

They landed in a small cave at the back of the large mountain next to the village and Alcatraz climbed out to see what was in the area. Finally he returned and said, "Nobody around. I'm going to go try and find something to eat."

Cortana nodded as Alcatraz left the cave.

-TIH-

The next two weeks passed without incident. Alcatraz made sure to mug a passing villager for his clothes so that he could enter the village without his armour on. As he entered the main street (thanking his lucky stars he'd learnt Japanese for the foreign language requirement before joining the Marine Corps; it seemed to be serving him well now), he quickly became aware he was in the middle of some kind of festival. A giant fox with nine tails dominated the area, with a giant toad across from it. Atop the toad's head he could see a dummy of a man with yellow-blond hair.

As he was examining these odd effigies, he heard yelling from some distance away, "Get the demon!"

Turning, Alcatraz saw a group of obviously-drunk people chasing a small boy with the same yellow-blond hair as the statue on the toad, who was speeding down the street faster than he'd ever seen anybody else go and clutching a bag to his chest. Curious, Alcatraz followed the group at a slow jog.

-TIH-

Naruto cursed to himself as he skidded around another corner and ran off down an alleyway. How could he have forgotten that today was the date of not only his birthday, but also the Kyūbi festival! He and Tenten had agreed that she was to handle these kinds of days; she had even called him on it when he left the apartment! Skidding to a halt, he glared balefully at the wall in his path for a second before turning to face his pursuers.

One of the men in front of him raised a broken bottle and grinned, "Let's finish the Yondaime's work, _demon_." As he swung the bottle down Naruto turned away, awaiting the end.

As the bottle descended, a long knife spun end-over-end and sank into the man's hand from behind, causing him to howl in pain and drop the bottle. The other drunks turned to see a tall man standing in the entrance of the alley, his arm still thrust forwards from the throw and an angry look on what was visible of his shadowed face. "He's just a child," hissed the man, "What gives you the right to do this?"

As he marched over and wrenched the knife from the first man's hand, the man behind him decided he'd kill the demon lover. He threw a blow at the back of Naruto's rescuer's head.

Naruto watched as his saviour intercepted the blow, snapped the man's wrist like a twig and then proceeded to demolish the rest by slamming their heads into the walls, the floor, and once cutting a man's throat with his knife. Finally the last man dropped like a stone and the tall rescuer turned to grin at Naruto before he spoke in an unfamiliar language.

Naruto simply stared at him, "What? I can't understand you…"

The man nodded and smiled before speaking in perfect Japanese, "Ahh, I see. My apologies. What is your name?"

Naruto beamed, "I'm Naruto! Naruto Uzumaki!"

Alcatraz smiled down at him. He had been a good judge of character before the ill-fated mission to retrieve Gould and Prophet from New York City, and he had a funny feeling that this boy might be just what he was looking for in a successor as the wearer of the Nanosuit. He just needed to ask a few more questions first.

"Do you have any family, Naruto?"

Naruto shook his head, "Only my bestest friend in the world, Ten-chan! I really want to get strong so that I can protect her… her and all my other precious people like Hokage-jiji and Teuchi-jiji and Ayame-nee-chan…"

"_That__'__s __good __enough __for __me__…" _thought Alcatraz before suddenly doubling over in a faked coughing fit.

Naruto darted up to him, "Are you ok?"

Alcatraz nodded, "Yeah, just give me a second…" Unnoticed by the blond boy, his other hand swept up and chopped him across the back of the neck. As Naruto sank gently to the floor unconscious, Alcatraz thought, _"__I__'__m __sorry __about __this, __kid. __But __I __really __do __need __to __pass __on __my __suit __before __I __die __of __this __accursed __lung __cancer __that __Ceph __drug __created.__"_

Back at home, Tenten looked up as the clock struck ten and began to wonder what was taking Naruto so long.

-TIH-

Naruto's body felt heavy. Random images flittered through his subconscious; bizarre creatures that looked like humanoid(ish) bags of liquid clad in varying styles of armour flitted in and out of sight, interspersed with bright flashes of light, screams and shouts; with Naruto in the middle looking around him in confusion, wondering where all these memories came from. All through this, he could hear a voice yelling his name, but it sounded distant, as though he was standing atop a mountain range and somebody was yelling at him from the adjacent peak.

"_**Boy… Boy… BOY!"**_

With a gasp for air as though he had been submerged in a pool, Naruto shot upright to find he was indeed lying in water. As his eyes moved up from the floor, his breath suddenly caught in his throat.

A tall man was standing a few feet away, his arms folded as he looked down on Naruto through the biggest set of barred doors Naruto had ever seen. Some distance above his head, Naruto could see a small paper tag bridging the gap between the doors with the word SEAL on it.

"And you are?" said Naruto quietly, staring up at the man, "What am I doing here and where are we?"

The man frowned, **"****This ****is ****your ****own ****mindscape, ****dumbass. ****You ****got ****knocked ****out ****by ****that ****guy ****and ****ended ****up ****here. ****As ****for ****me, ****I****'****ve ****always ****been ****here. ****I****'****ve ****been ****here ****since ****the ****night ****you ****were ****born, ****boy; ****the ****night ****the ****Yondaime ****Hokage ****fought ****me ****and ****stuck ****me ****in ****this ****accursed ****place, ****enslaved ****by ****a ****divine ****seal ****I ****wish ****I ****could ****destroy, ****but ****compared ****to****the ****Shinigami ****I ****have ****about ****as ****much ****power ****as ****a ****newborn ****kit.****"**

Naruto frowned, "The Yondaime Hokage? The Shinigami? What are you talking about, mister?"

The man growled, exposing teeth that looked to be much sharper than any usual human's teeth, **"****Fool! ****Insolent ****little ****FOOL! ****I ****am ****the ****Kyūbi ****no ****Kitsune, ****the ****Nine-Tailed ****Demon ****Fox, ****and ****much ****more ****besides! ****I ****am ****the ****mightiest ****of ****the ****bijuu, ****the ****tailed ****beasts ****you ****feeble ****humans ****cannot ****possibly ****hope ****to ****match ****by ****any ****stretch ****of ****the ****imagination! ****We ****are ****gods ****given ****mortal ****form, ****BOY! ****WE ****ARE ****THE ****MIGHTIEST ****BEINGS ****TO ****WALK ****THIS ****EARTH, ****AND ****YOU ****WILL ****TREAT ****ME ****WITH ****THE ****RESPECT ****AND ****HONOUR ****I ****DESERVE!****"**

Naruto winced as the man's voice blasted against his eardrums, before he folded his arms and looked up at the man from his seated position like a petulant child, "Okay. Suppose for a second I believe you _are_who you say you are." He held up a hand to stop the man's rant in its tracks, "I'm not inclined to believe you as is; I'll need to talk to jiji before I make any real decisions regarding you. However, I believe you're wrong in one respect…"

The man scowled, leaning closer to the bars as he said, **"****And ****what ****is ****that, **_**boy**_**?****"**

Naruto smirked, "You say we're in _my_mindscape. Jiji always told me that he pays the rent for mine and Ten-chan's apartment so that we can live there. Don't you think that could apply here?"

Naruto fought down the urge to laugh at the man's expression. His eyes were bulging, mouth wide open and odd sounds were occasionally issuing from his throat as he obviously struggled to come up with a decent response to having been unwittingly outsmarted by an eight-year-old. Finally, he gave the predictable reaction; exploding. **"****How ****dare ****you****… ****HOW ****DARE ****YOU? ****HOW ****DARE ****YOU ****TRY ****TO ****CALL ****SUCH ****LEVERAGE ****ON ****THE ****KYŪBI ****NO ****KITSUNE, ****MIGHTIEST ****OF ****THE ****BIJUU ****AND ****LORD ****OF ****MAKAI!****"**

Naruto smirked, "Alright then. If that's your answer, I'll be going. I need to go home and check on Ten-chan."

The man smirked, **"****Of ****course, ****wouldn****'****t ****want ****your ****little ****mate ****to ****be ****worried ****about ****you, ****would ****we?****"**

Naruto stuck his tongue out, "No we wouldn't; whatever "mate" means. You still need to start earning your rent though."

He ignored the man's reply, which was somewhat more unprintable than Naruto would have liked, "So how do I get out of here?"

The man snarled and made an angry hand gesture. Almost instantly everything disappeared and he found himself lying on his back in some kind of cave. As he raised his head and looked around he caught sight of a motionless body slumped on a platform underneath some kind of giant mechanical bird.

Even as he rolled over to try and push himself upright, Naruto heard a gravelly voice in his ear whisper, _**"**__**Unzipping **__**embedded **__**memory.**__**"**_

In a flash of light, he found himself inside some kind of memory.

-TIH-

_Naruto saw the man who had rescued him standing over him, smiling. Now that he saw him in some actual light, he could tell the man had green eyes, brown hair cut very short and fair skin. "Sorry about knocking you out like that, but the stakes demand it." He paused, "No doubt you're wondering what stakes I'm talking about; so I'm going to need to run through some history first."_

_He walked over to the weird mechanical bird behind him and sat down on the seat provided by the platform underneath before picking up an odd tube-like weapon with a handle at one end and spinning it around the end of his finger, "I come from another world, where the year is twenty-twenty-three and my people just got through repelling an invasion from outer space by a race known as the Ceph. It transpired that they had built massive hives under our major cities which dispersed a spore that was killing us off by the hundreds. I managed to get into the central hive under my city and blow it up, saving my people before it was revealed that there were more hives under major cities around the world. I managed to take down two other hives, one under a city called London and another under a city named Moscow before I ran into a problem in a third city called Tokyo. It seemed the Ceph had received news of my coming somehow, because they ambushed me and injected me with a strain of the spore which knocked me unconscious. I can only guess at what happened next but I assume they thought it would be a good plan to take me back to their home planet to see how I was able to fight them all so effectively."_

_He ran a hand over the top of his head and grinned again, "When I woke up, I fought my way to the main control cabin of the ship I was on and took over. I can only assume that one of the Ceph managed to sabotage it, since when it fired I ended up being sent into another dimension."_

_Again, another smirk before he turned to point into the bird, "I picked up a new friend, who lives in the suit. You'll probably meet her or have met her by now. She'll quite possibly be one of the most valuable friends you'll ever have."_

_He suddenly buckled over and coughed. Blood spattered onto the cave floor. Finally he straightened back up and smiled, "The irony of this is excellent. I survived in New York, I survived in London and I survived in Moscow. I survived the operation which repaired my broken body, I survived the Heavy ambush that caused all my troubles and apart from the side-effect of lung cancer I survived that spore strain that Stalker managed to get me with to knock me out. So ironic that now I'm dying of said lung cancer after pulling through all that and more, isn't it? Now I'm going to choose how I die, because dying slowly of cancer isn't how I wanted to go out."_

_He stood up, pressed the end of the tube against his temple and smiled down at Naruto, "I'm basically stealing this line from my predecessor, but it says pretty much everything else I want to say. They used to call me Alcatraz. Remember me." His index finger on the tube's handle twitched, there was a loud bang, and Alcatraz fell like a puppet whose strings had been cut._

-TIH-

Naruto opened his eyes and groaned as he raised a hand to rub the back of his neck. As the hand passed his line of sight he froze, staring at the limb in question with shock in his eyes.

His hand was covered by some kind of black and silver armour; no skin being visible as he flexed his hand experimentally. The material moved with his hand like a second skin. "What…" he murmured, raising his hand to his face. It pressed against some kind of plating similar to that on his hand, along with a visor of some description, "…What is this?"

"**I ****can ****answer ****that.****" **A female voice sounded either inside his head or in his ear, he couldn't tell which.

Naruto's head snapped up, "Kyūbi-teme? Is that you?" A second later he felt stupid for asking, since this voice was female and Kyūbi was most definitely not female if his recent encounter with the big-ass fox of DOOM was any indication.

"**No. I am UNSC Artificial Intelligence serial number CTN 0452-9, also known as Cortana. I am pleased to make your acquaintance."**

"Where are you?"

"**I live inside the Nanosuit you now wear. My job is to provide tactical support in a combat situation."**

"Tack… tick… call?" Naruto repeated haltingly.

There was a pause before Cortana said, **"****It ****means ****I ****give ****you ****useful ****information ****in ****a ****fight.****"**

"Ah! All ninja could use that!" said Naruto proudly.

A few seconds later the inside of the screen over his eyes flicked and small dots of light coalesced into an image of a woman with white skin and purple hair, her dignity preserved by similar purple markings all across her body. She smiled.

Naruto blinked. Just once. A second later he muttered, "Are you an angel?"

Cortana laughed, **"****No. ****I ****am ****an ****artificial ****intelligence.****"**

Naruto frowned, "I don't know what that means."

Cortana gave him a gentle smile, **"****How ****old ****are ****you?****"**

Naruto gave her a foxy grin, "Eight!"

Cortana smiled before the symbols covering her body shimmered slightly and started moving faster. Finally she said, **"****Let ****me ****see****… ****your ****dialect ****is ****standard ****Japanese; ****am ****I ****to ****understand ****then ****that ****we ****are ****in ****Japan?****"**

Naruto frowned, "What's Japan?"

Cortana tugged a lock of her long hair that hung over her chest in thought, **"****I ****see. ****May ****I ****know ****the ****name ****of ****the ****nation ****we ****currently ****stand ****in ****then?****"**

"This is Hi no Kuni, the Land of Fire in the Elemental Countries."

Cortana frowned, **"****Then ****I ****assume ****that****'****s ****the ****name ****given ****to ****Japan ****prior ****to ****the ****Feudal ****Era. ****What ****is ****your ****hierarchy?****" **Noting Naruto's blank look and remembering she wasn't speaking to a highly trained soldier, she said, **"****By ****that ****I ****mean ****who ****is ****in ****charge?****"**

"Oh!" said Naruto, "I know this! The Hokage is in charge of our ninja village; the daimyō is in charge of the country. There are five major ninja villages in all including ours, each with their own Kage in charge, as well as numerous smaller villages. Aside from the Kage, there are also ninja and civilian councils to help manage the village. Jiji can probably explain it better."

Cortana nodded before saying, **"****Then ****take ****me ****to ****your ****leader. ****Heh, ****I****'****ve ****always ****wanted ****to ****say ****that.****"**

Naruto didn't understand the joke, but grinned anyway and stood up before looking down at Alcatraz's body, "I should bury him… but I think we burn the bodies of our ninja here to make sure nobody can steal their secrets."

Cortana nodded again, **"****I ****understand ****that ****Alcatraz ****brought ****you ****here ****at ****around ****2230 ****last ****night. ****It ****is ****now ****close ****to ****0600 ****hours ****in ****the ****morning. ****Chances ****are ****you ****have ****already ****been ****reported ****missing.****"**

Naruto nodded, "Yes, jiji probably has the ANBU out searching now."

Cortana thought for a second, **"****In ****that ****case, ****I ****would ****assume ****that ****these ****ANBU ****are ****your ****most ****highly-trained ****fighters?****"**

Naruto nodded again, "Yes. I'd tell you about the rankings we use but jiji can probably say it better than me."

Cortana nodded before sitting down and crossing her legs, **"****Alright. ****There ****are ****several ****main ****benefits ****to ****wearing ****this ****suit. ****The ****first ****is ****called ****Power ****Mode. ****This ****boosts ****your ****strength ****considerably, ****allowing ****you ****to ****pick ****up ****objects ****that ****you ****would ****not ****usually ****be ****able ****to ****lift, ****jump ****higher ****and ****further ****or ****run ****faster ****than ****you ****can ****normally ****or ****even ****perform ****a ****crippling ****attack ****from ****above ****known ****as ****an ****Air ****Stomp ****to ****crush ****a ****foe. ****It ****can ****also ****be ****used ****to ****deliver ****more ****powerful ****punches ****or ****kicks ****when ****engaged ****in ****hand-to-hand ****combat.****"**

Naruto's eyes lit up with childish glee as he thought about the possible practical applications. Cortana allowed him a few moments to imagine what he could do before continuing, **"****Next ****is ****the ****Armour ****Mode. ****This ****mode ****is ****required ****for ****Power ****Mode ****to ****work. ****Armour ****Mode ****tightens ****the ****suit****'****s ****outer ****weave, ****increasing ****its ****density ****and ****therefore ****its ****defensive ****capabilities. ****While ****active ****this ****mode ****can ****allow ****you ****to ****deflect ****high-speed ****projectiles ****and ****absorb ****both ****blunt ****trauma ****and ****small ****explosions.****"**

Again she allowed Naruto to absorb this information before resuming her lecture, **"****Third, ****the ****Infiltration ****Mode, ****or ****Stealth ****Mode. ****This ****mode ****works ****by ****scanning ****the ****environment ****and ****feeding ****the ****information ****to ****the ****suit****'****s ****outer ****layers, ****which ****then ****take ****on ****the ****appearance ****of ****the ****environment. ****This ****renders ****the ****suit ****almost ****completely ****invisible, ****as ****well ****as ****suppressing ****any ****sounds ****you ****may ****make ****while ****moving.****"**

Naruto was almost drooling by this point; the capabilities of his new acquisition seemed more than his child's brain could comprehend. "Anything else?" he asked, eager for a positive answer.

Cortana laughed before nodding, **"****Yes. ****Your ****visor, ****the ****part ****of ****your ****helmet ****I ****am ****currently ****appearing ****to ****you ****on, ****has ****two ****functions. ****First, ****the ****tactical ****mode. ****This ****allows ****you ****to ****view ****tactical ****information ****about ****your ****surroundings ****in ****real ****time. ****This ****information ****includes ****various ****sources ****of ****interest; ****ways ****to ****enter ****a ****facility, ****enemies ****you ****will ****need ****to ****neutralize ****to ****proceed, ****and ****so****on.****"**

Naruto nodded, "And the other thing?"

Cortana folded her arms, **"****This ****last ****capability ****of ****the ****suit ****is ****effectively ****a ****form ****of ****heat ****vision. ****Since ****all ****humans ****produce ****body ****heat, ****you ****can ****use ****this ****to ****see ****where ****they ****are ****no ****matter ****whether ****it****'****s ****day ****or ****night.****"**

Naruto's eyes lit up; any ability that allowed him to even see where somebody hiding underneath a genjutsu would be invaluable when he was pulling a prank.

Cortana smiled at the childish glee she could see in her new partner's eyes, before she turned her head slightly and closed her own eyes. **"****Do ****you ****have ****anybody ****waiting ****for ****you ****at ****home?****"**

Naruto leapt up in shock, "I forgot about Ten-chan! I need to get home!"

He walked swiftly towards the door and stopped at the edge of the cliff outside, **"****I ****just ****realized ****I ****forgot ****to ****ask ****you ****your ****name. ****What****'****s ****your ****name? ****What ****do ****people ****call ****you?****"**

Naruto put one foot on a rock and looked down the cliff as the sun's first rays broke over the horizon, "They call me… Naruto."


	3. Naruto: Shinigami's Chosen

**(A/N: This fic is an idea I had a while ago; we have all these fics where Naruto has a Bleachverse!Shinigami's powers... but I don't think I've ever seen a fic where he has the powers of the Narutoverse!Shinigami. This idea sort of bubbled out of that. I hope you enjoy.)**

Shinigami's Chosen

Prologue: Ascendance

Naruto's eyes went wide as he saw the fūma shuriken cutting through the air towards him as Iruka ran to try and stop it. Beyond the whirling razor-sharp metal, Mizuki's eyes were alive with glee as he saw death staring the demon child in the face.

There was a spray of blood and a horrible pain in Naruto's chest, and as he looked down and saw that he'd been transfixed by the massive shuriken straight through his heart, he heard Iruka gave a howl of grief.

The small blond fell backwards onto the ground, his eyes clouding over as all went dark and quiet, Mizuki's triumphant cackle ringing in his ears.

-SC-

Iruka attacked Mizuki with a single-minded intensity, focused only on killing the traitor who had so cold-bloodedly murdered Naruto.

Mizuki was still grinning, relishing in the fact that he had just slain the Kyūbi. It was as he parried another slash of Iruka's kunai that he happened to look up and gasp.

A cloaked figure was standing before them, bending over Naruto as what appeared to be black chakra swirled around them. As they pulled the shuriken from Naruto's chest and waved a hand, thus instantly healing the injury on his chest, they spoke in a voice that reverberated in the two chūnins' chests, yet was undeniably female, **"****I ****select ****you, ****Naruto ****Uzumaki, ****as ****my ****representative ****here ****on ****the ****mortal ****plane. ****Use ****my ****power ****for ****good, ****and ****may ****you ****become ****a ****strong ****shinobi.****"**

There was an explosion of chakra around Naruto which completely masked the boy from sight, before it dissipated again to reveal Naruto apparently still standing where he had been, but now his body was obscured by a pair of large black wings. When they parted he appeared, clad in some kind of black robe with only one sleeve. His bare left arm was wrapped in criss-crossing prayer beads down to his wrist, which had some kind of gauntlet strapped to it with a skeletal hand over the back of his own living one and three blades curving out from it. His fingers were curled around a handle resting in his palm, evidently to keep the gauntlet steady.

His right hand held a long staff with three jagged blades, each with a silver edge and a black strip along the blunt side in a neat line at one end and a rope leading into his right sleeve at the other.

"Impossible!" shouted Mizuki, "You should be dead, demon! What are you?"

Naruto turned slowly on the spot, before a pair of large black wings spread behind him and he suddenly disappeared.

Iruka felt a breeze pass him by, before he heard liquid spattering the ground and turned to see that Naruto had reappeared in front of Mizuki driven the claw gauntlet upwards through the rogue chūnin's ribcage.

"What am I…?" murmured Naruto quietly, "I am a monument to all your sins."

He wrenched his arm back with a sickening squelch and Mizuki collapsed onto his back in a pool of his own blood.

"Na-Naruto?" stammered Iruka.

Naruto turned to face Iruka and grinned, and suddenly he was the Naruto that Iruka had known for the last four years, "Hey Iruka-sensei. That was fun wasn't it?"

Iruka stared at him blankly, "You… you died, and you think it was _fun_?"

Naruto smiled a calm smile, "Yeah, that was a weird feeling. But now I have a new nee-chan!"

Iruka's blank look continued, and Naruto elaborated, "She says her name is Shiny… Shin-gummy…"

Iruka's jaw dropped, "Shinigami? That's who that was earlier, the _Shinigami_?"

Naruto nodded, then winced, "Yeah, and apparently she can speak in my head. She's tearing me a new one for calling her "Shin-gummy"."

Iruka resisted the urge to laugh his ass off over the idea of the Shinigami pouting about something so trivial, instead picking up the scroll and glancing disdainfully at Mizuki's body. The look of shock was still frozen on the chūnin's face.

It was at that moment that an ANBU team entered the clearing with their weapons drawn. The one in the lead, a female with a cat mask, looked down at Mizuki's body and then over at Naruto, "…I guess we missed the action, huh?"

Iruka nodded, "Indeed you did, ANBU-san. I will be taking Naruto to the Hokage's office now."

The ANBU nodded and began clearing up as Iruka and Naruto left the area.

-SC-

"Naruto?" said Sarutobi in a startled tone as he beheld the genin coming through the door, "What happened to you?"

Naruto smiled, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you, jiji."

Sarutobi frowned, "That remains to be seen. Now explain what happened tonight."

"Well," Naruto began, but suddenly cocked his head as Shinigami spoke.

"_**Naruto-kun, I can walk you through a technique which will allow me to appear in that room. Then I can explain myself."**_

"_How do I do it, Shinigami-chan?"_

"_**I'll walk you through the seals, then you need to clap your hands and put them on the nearest surface, usually the floor."**_

Naruto nodded and began making the handsigns, finally crouching, slapping both hands on the floor and saying, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" as directed by Shinigami.

In a puff of smoke Shinigami appeared, flanked by two others in hooded cloaks that obscured their faces. She smiled when she saw Naruto, **"****Well ****done, ****Naruto.****"**

Sarutobi's pipe fell from his slack lips as he heard Naruto's immediate reply of, "Hiya, Shinigami-chan!"

"You," he stammered, "You're the Shinigami?"

The woman smiled and nodded, **"****That ****I ****am, ****and ****these ****are ****my ****Shi ****no ****Tenshi ****(Angels ****of ****Death), ****Satsugaiko,****" **she indicated the figure on her right, who had now lowered her hood to reveal pale skin, black eyes, dark reddish-pink hair and an even, stony expression which cracked ever so slightly as Naruto waved up at her, **"****and ****her ****twin ****sister ****Shibōko.****"** The other figure lowered her own hood, revealing a countenance identical to the other's, though her hair was somewhat lighter than Satsugaiko's, more pink than red.

Sarutobi swallowed. He could sense the twins' chakra reserves and could tell that even though they were obviously suppressing their reserves they were easily bigger than the Kyūbi's when it was at full power. From the Shinigami, she might as well have been a still image; he couldn't pick up anything from her at all.

Something of his thoughts must have shown on his face, because Shinigami suddenly said, **"****The ****reason ****you ****cannot ****sense ****my ****chakra ****levels, ****Sarutobi-dono, ****is ****because ****like ****you ****cannot ****sense ****or ****interact ****with ****two-dimensional ****people, ****my ****power ****is ****on ****a ****level ****beyond ****that ****which ****human ****minds ****are ****capable ****of ****comprehending.****"**

Sarutobi nodded, "So… what is it to do with Naruto that means I am honoured by your presence, Shinigami-sama?"

Shinigami chuckled, **"****First ****I ****would ****advise ****that ****you ****procure ****some ****sake. ****You ****may ****need ****it ****to ****stay ****calm.****"**

Sarutobi nodded and pressed the button on his desk intercom, "Kiyone, get me some sake. None of that watered-down cheap sake though, the real stuff."

The voice of Sarutobi's secretary came back, "But Hokage-sama, what about your health?"

Sarutobi sighed, "Kiyone, as much as I appreciate your attempts to wean me off my alleged addiction to sake, you know my rule relating to this…?"

There was a rush of static as Kiyone sighed, "Yes Hokage-sama, I did see the Uzumaki go in there… In matters relating in any way to Naruto Uzumaki, strong sake must be on hand and ready to be provided in case the latest prank has alarming results regarding property damage, laundry bills, etc that may result in an unfortunate loss of the current Hokage due to stress-induced cardiac arrest…"

Sarutobi nodded, "Good girl. A bottle and five saucers please, and some milk for Naruto."

"At once, Hokage-sama." Sarutobi let go of the button and sat back in his seat with a relieved sigh.

"Does that rule need to be used often?" Satsugaiko asked curiously.

Iruka shook his head, "More often than any of us would like, but fortunately that _particular_ rule hasn't had to be implemented since just after Naruto had started the Academy, when one of the Hyūga Elders was stupid enough to tell him that ramen was worthless, disgusting trash only to be eaten by the poor, common scum."

Sarutobi shivered involuntarily. He was sure that the majority of the Hyūga clan still had nightmares whenever they smelt simmering ramen broth, apart from two; the heiress, who was Naruto's age, and her little sister. The heiress had, when questioned, revealed that she had found an anonymous note in her bag one day after the Academy let out, advising her to go shopping with her little sister at a certain time during the next weekend. The note hadn't been signed and she hadn't seen who planted it, but it was obviously from Naruto since he had been the one to execute the prank.

Satsugaiko was now unable to contain her curiosity, "What did he do?"

Iruka ran a hand over his face, "We could never understand how he managed to set it up without being found out by anyone or even leaving a trace of evidence behind to hint at what he was doing, but he built some kind of glider. After loading it up with water balloons filled with what we suspect was cold, congealed ramen from the out-of-date instant ramen cups in his cupboards, he launched it off the top of the Hokage Monument… and carpet bombed the Hyūga compound."

Satsugaiko's jaw dropped in shock.

Iruka nodded as he continued, "He crashed in a training field just outside the village walls, and the ANBU eventually found him dangling from a branch by his makeshift parachute vest with only a few scratches, though the glider was destroyed on impact with the treeline. Apparently the ANBU took an extra hour to bring him in; half because they were too busy poking him with sticks while he was helpless to retaliate and half because they were all laughing too hard to make their reports."

Naruto looked proud, "I did help though… Nobody ever thought of an attack from the sky before I did it. One of the ANBU-sans even bought me a week's worth of ramen for bringing the weakness to their attention!"

Sarutobi saw Satsugaiko's stumped look and nodded grimly, "I understand your shock. I had to see the evidence myself before I actually believed the ANBU incident report. I mean, the idea that a child, even if that child _was_ Naruto, had managed to isolate such a flaw in our security _and _bring it to our attention in such a monumental fashion to drive home the point… well it was simply ridiculous at first. I guess that just made it all the more shocking when it turned out to be true."

Iruka nodded in agreement, "I'm still confused about the note though, come to think of it. How did you pull it off and why?"

Naruto shrugged, "Wasn't that hard, I just waited until she wasn't looking and slipped it into her bag. Hinata-ch... -san's a little weird but she's still nice and didn't deserve to get caught up in my plans, neither did her sister. The rest of the teme clan on the other hand…"

The slipped affectionate honorific on the end of Hinata's name was not missed by anybody, but at that moment Kiyone entered with a tray in her hands. She cast the three cloaked women a curious look and was about to glare at Naruto when Sarutobi pointedly drummed his fingers on his desk, causing the secretary to twitch and put the tray down. "Thank you, Kiyone," said Sarutobi, "You may go. If anybody wishes to speak with me, then say I am in a meeting."

Kiyone nodded and left, silently closing the door behind her.

"Anyway," said Sarutobi, "If there is one thing we've all learnt from this, it's that if Naruto does something you think shouldn't happen or is impossible, don't tell him you think that. He's likely to do it again just to spite you."

Satsugaiko's jaw dropped, "He didn't do it again?"

Iruka nodded grimly, "He did. One of the ANBU who picked him up made the mistake of saying something along the lines of "I can't believe we're taking tips on security improvements from this little brat because of some stupid prank!" Naruto set off another ramen bomb in his house, rebuilt the glider _from __memory_, improved on the original design and then used it to carpet bomb not just ANBU HQ, not just the T&I Division, but also the Uchiha sector… though I suspect that last one was for less justified reasons."

Naruto scowled, "I still had balloons left over and they were dragging me down. If I hadn't dumped the excess weight I would've gone headlong into the village wall the second time. As it was I was lucky I had time to buzz the ANBU on the wall, touch down in a training field, bail out so the glider was destroyed when it crashed and get out of there before the ANBU appeared."

Shinigami digested this for a brief second before turning on Satsugaiko, **"****I ****forbid ****you ****from ****consulting ****with ****Naruto-kun ****on ****how ****to ****improve ****your ****ability ****to ****prank ****people. ****I****'****m ****sure ****we ****all ****know ****exactly ****what ****kind ****of ****mischief ****you ****can ****cook ****up****on ****your ****own ****and ****we ****most ****certainly ****don****'****t ****need ****any ****more ****than ****we ****already ****had ****after ****the ****last ****incident!****"**

Satsugaiko pouted, "I raise hell one single time…"

Shibōko spoke for the first time, "One time? How about a dozen times? I'm afraid to stay in the same room as any of the people you've pranked for more than ten minutes at a time in case they suspect you've bleached your hair to pose as me!"

The sisters bickered for a few more minutes before Shinigami cleared her throat loudly and looked at Sarutobi, **"****When ****is ****Naruto ****due ****to ****be ****placed ****on ****a ****team?****"**

Sarutobi checked the stack of papers on his desk, "Next week, why?"

Shinigami smiled, **"****Excellent. ****In ****that ****case, ****with ****your ****permission ****I ****will ****take ****Naruto ****away ****for ****the ****week ****to ****train ****him.****"**

Sarutobi looked puzzled, "What can you possibly teach him in one short week? Naruto is most certainly a quick learner but I don't know if even he is capable of learning en entirely new skill set in only seven days."

Shinigami chuckled, **"****We ****have ****our ****ways. ****What ****may ****appear ****a ****week ****for ****you ****could ****be ****a ****much ****longer ****for ****us; ****after ****all ****even ****space ****and ****time ****bend ****to ****the ****will ****of ****the ****Kami. ****Mark ****my ****words, ****Sarutobi-dono;****" **she stood and took Naruto's hand, **"****in ****one ****week ****of ****your ****time ****I ****will ****forge ****Naruto ****into ****a ****warrior ****like ****no ****other. ****In ****one ****week, ****I ****will ****prepare ****him, ****and ****when ****he ****returns ****at ****the ****end ****of ****the ****week ****he ****will ****be ****ready.****"**

"Ready for what?"

Shinigami's smile simply widened, **"****He ****will ****be ****ready ****to ****take ****up ****the ****mantle ****as ****my ****Chosen. ****The ****mortal ****world ****will ****know ****Naruto ****Uzumaki; ****the ****Shinigami****'****s ****Chosen!****"**

And as those last words rang in the office, Shinigami and Naruto both vanished, leaving Iruka and Sarutobi watching in stunned awe.

**(A/N: You all know the drill; review, tell me what you loved and what you hated... Hope you enjoyed this and until next time folks! Leonineus, OUT!)**

**(A/N: Oh yeah, forgot to mention. It would appear that the next chapter of Team ROOT is going to be an extra-long one; it's already at 7.8k and I'm not even close to being done yet! Shouldn't be too much longer however...)**


	4. HPxNaruto: Kami, Comas and Kunai

Kami, Comas & Kunai

Prologue

**(A/N: Hermione and Ginny have swapped injuries in this; Hermione only broke her ankle but Ginny took the flame curse.)**

Agony. That was all Harry could comprehend as he mentally begged Dumbledore to kill him.

"_Just __kill __me__…" _he thought, _"__This __is __worse __than __death!__" _His thoughts drifted, flicking past images of Ron… Sirius… Remus… and finally settling on Hermione. His heart swelled and the snake that had him locked in its coils flinched away.

"_I… I wish… I'd had the chance to tell her… how I felt…"_

The snake's coils loosened and disappeared, and Harry dropped onto the floor and passed out even as he heard Hermione's voice scream, "HARRY!"

-KC&K-

"Madam Pomfrey!" cried Hermione as she sat upright, prompting the woman to put a restraining hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Calm down, Miss Granger. Your friends are all fine…"

Hermione felt a lead ball drop into her stomach as she noticed the hesitation in Madam Pomfrey's tone and the sadness in her eyes, "Where…"

Madame Pomfrey helped her up and let her run across the room to Harry's bed. Hermione reached the bedside and covered her mouth, "Is he…"

Madame Pomfrey put a hand on Hermione's shoulder, "No, just unconscious. According to the Headmaster, You-Know-Who tried to possess him, and his attempt to throw off the possession put him in a coma."

Hermione broke down entirely at the last word. Her composure shattered like glass and she slumped over on Harry's chest, crying.

Madame Pomfrey allowed her the moment of grief, knowing the girl needed it. _"__How __irritating,__" _the stray thought crossed her mind before her sympathetic side banished it, _"__Nobody __will __get __any __money __from __the __pool __now.__"_

-KC&K-

Harry was transported to St. Mungo's the next day and put in a private room by the Long Term Care Ward, while Hermione pretty much moved into the Restricted Section and began researching methods of getting him out of the coma.

The one time Ron came in and told her to take a break, she screamed at him that he was a disloyal friend before chasing him out of the library with assorted curses and hexes sailing past his head. Madame Pince wisely stayed out of the girl's way, not wanting to get involved and possibly injured.

After that, Dumbledore got an elf to bring her meals and forbade Madame Pince from interfering with her, citing that Hermione knew not to eat near books.

Things progressed in this vein for at least a month before tragedy struck. A Death Eater got into Harry's private room and poured poison into his mouth, killing him in a matter of minutes.

When Dumbledore found out, he made sure Hermione didn't know out of concern for her sanity. She had lost it enough when Harry had gone into a coma; if she found out he was dead she might just become grief-stricken enough to kill herself.

-KC&K-

Hermione sat back and smiled; she had finally located the ritual that would help Harry come back from his coma.

As she began setting everything up on the floor of the library, she didn't realize she had misread the description. Under the name of the ritual, which could barely be deciphered through the age-spotted paper as being "Kuchiyose no Jutsu", a smudge made the word "Kami" look like "Coma".

Blissfully unaware of her error, Hermione set the book on the floor in front of her, bit down on her thumb as the book instructed, and flashed through the odd handsigns the book told her to use. Finally she slammed her bloody hand against the floor and recited the name of the ritual as the book indicated, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

A shimmering pattern of odd characters spread out from the point of contact in a weblike pattern, there was a flash of light and a puff of smoke… and Hermione Granger disappeared, never to be seen again.

-KC&K-

_My name is Harry Potter. Or is it Jade? I don't know… since I arrived in this place with the beautiful woman I don't know, I'm not sure who I am anymore. She told me I had some kind of "blood seal array" on me, which made me look like a man when I'm actually a girl… but that makes no sense. I've been a boy all my life; I've been Harry Potter all my life. So who am I now?_

_The woman spoke to me. She said her name was "Kami" or something, that I had been manipulated and lied to all my life. Hell, even the gender-changing seal array was apparently because somebody, Kami suggested the Headmaster but I'm not sure, thought that a "Boy-Who-Lived" was a better sell than a "Girl-Who-Lived"._

_Anyway, I've been talking to her for the last few days and she explained that I have a choice. She can let me pass on, which I'm tempted to do because I want to see my parents again. However something holds me back; Hermione. I don't want her to be sad._

_Kami also told me that I can be stripped of my magic and put in another world, but again the problem of what would happen to Hermione arises. I don't know what I should do, but hey; they say everything works itself out eventually, right?_

-KC&K-

Hermione opened her eyes to find herself lying on a perfectly manicured lawn in front of a building she knew to be a Japanese-style pagoda. As she sat up, she heard laughter coming from the pagoda.

Her heart leapt as she recognized that laugh; it sounded oddly feminine but it was unmistakeably Harry's laugh. Leaping to her feet, she ran up to the pagoda and pounded on the door, "Harry? Harry! It's Hermione! Open the door!"

There was a pause and then a voice said, "I'll get it, I know her." The door opened and Hermione tackled the person on the other side in a hug.

"Oof, that's something I missed," muttered the person below Hermione, "Hermione-grade flying tackle-hugs."

Hermione raised her head and said, "Oh Harry I missed you so much after you went into… that… coma."

She trailed off as she stared at the girl lying on the floor underneath her. She had untidy hair which was spread over the floor underneath her in a halo of black, a very faint lightning-shaped scar on the right side of her forehead, and two vivid emerald-green eyes that sparkled up at Hermione. "Yes, I missed you too Hermione."

Hermione's eyes widened and she jumped up, "H-Harry? W-What happened to you?"

Harry grinned, but before he (she?) could speak, a second voice broke in on Hermione's stunned shock, **"****I****'****m ****partially ****responsible ****for ****this. ****I ****didn****'****t ****do ****whatever ****it ****was ****that ****made ****Jade ****here ****a ****guy, ****but ****I a****m ****responsible ****for ****breaking ****it.****"**

Hermione looked around and saw an unspeakably perfect woman kneeling on a cushion beside a low table, smiling over at her, **"****It****'****s ****nice ****to ****meet ****you, ****Hermione. ****Jade ****has ****told ****me ****all ****about ****you ****in ****terms ****so ****glowing ****as ****to ****be ****blinding. ****I ****see ****now ****that ****her ****compliments ****fell ****far ****short ****of ****the ****truth. ****And ****my ****name ****is ****Kami, ****by ****the ****way.****"**

Hermione blushed and turned on "Jade", who didn't meet her eyes. Hermione could see that her cheeks were darkening slightly.

Hermione frowned, "Hold on, how did I get here anyway? I was trying a ritual which would have brought Harry… Jade… back from the coma, but I ended up here."

Kami smiled benignly at Hermione, **"****What ****you ****used ****wasn****'****t ****a ****coma-reversing ****ritual. ****You ****misread ****the ****word**** "****Kami****" ****as**** "****coma****"****. ****What ****you ****thought ****would ****bring ****your ****friend ****back ****to ****you ****didn****'****t ****do ****anything ****of ****the ****sort; ****instead ****it ****summoned ****you ****before ****me.****"**

"But then…" said Hermione as her brow furrowed, "…Why is Jade here now?"

Jade gave a sad smile, "According to what Kami here told me… a Death Eater snuck into my hospital room and poured poison into my mouth. From Kami's description it might have been one of the Carrows. That was about four or five days ago."

Hermione's eyes widened, "I went to Dumbledore two days ago and asked to be allowed to go see you. He said you were fine, but the Healers weren't allowing visitors! He lied to me!"

_Flashback Begin!_

"_Professor Dumbledore, I'd like permission to Floo to St. Mungo's to visit Harry. I want to tell him I'm almost done with finding some way to get him out of his coma!"_

_Dumbledore frowned, knowing he couldn't let Hermione find out that Harry was dead. Forcing a benevolent smile onto his face he said, "I'm afraid the Healers are refusing Harry visitors while they consult a Healer who is skilled with comas of this kind. As such I cannot grant your request but I can assure you that Harry is fine."_

_Flashback End!_

Jade gave a derisive laugh, her pretty face developing a faint sneer that looked very out of place, "What a surprise. He'd been lying to the magical world for years."

At Hermione's puzzled expression he jerked a thumb at Kami, "Kami here's omniscient. She can see everything, and I mean _everything_. "

Hermione sniggered, "Good one, Ha… Jade. Omniscience is a myth."

Kami smiled, folding her hands in her lap and giving the girl a thoughtful look, **"****Omniscience ****is ****a ****myth ****you ****say? ****Alright, ****I ****will ****pick ****something ****from ****your ****past ****and ****you ****can ****verify ****if ****it****'****s ****true.****"**

Hermione nodded and crossed her arms as Kami closed her eyes. A few seconds later she reopened them and said, **"****Let****'****s ****see****… ****you ****broke ****your ****arm ****at ****five ****years ****old ****falling ****off ****a ****swing****… ****your ****mother ****and ****father ****run ****a ****successful ****dental ****practice****… ****ah! ****Jade, ****when ****she ****was ****still ****Harry, ****saved ****you ****from ****a ****troll!****"**

Hermione shrugged, "I don't know how you knew about my breaking my arm, but you could have found out the other two things from Ha… Jade."

Kami's smile widened, **"****Could ****Jade ****have ****told ****me ****that ****you ****nursed ****a ****small ****crush ****on ****Harry ****ever ****since ****the ****troll ****incident, ****when ****he ****himself ****didn****'****t ****even ****know ****or ****realize?****"**

Hermione's jaw dropped and Jade blushed even deeper, but Kami wasn't done. **"****Let****'****s ****see****… ****End ****of ****second ****year, ****after ****you ****discovered ****Harry ****was ****responsible ****for ****slaying ****the ****Basilisk, ****you ****ran ****to ****hug ****him ****first ****because ****you ****saw ****it ****as ****him ****saving ****your ****life****… ****again. ****Third ****year, ****you ****turned ****in ****the ****Firebolt ****because ****you ****were ****worried ****for ****his ****well being, ****at ****that ****point ****believing ****that ****it ****was ****a ****present ****sent ****with ****intent ****to ****harm. ****Your ****other ****friend ****Ronald ****did ****not ****think ****about ****that, ****he ****simply ****wanted ****to ****ride ****it**, effectively putting his own pleasure before the possible safety of his apparent "best friend". ******Fourth ****year, ****you ****believed ****Harry ****about ****the ****Triwizard ****Tournament ****and ****went ****out ****of ****your ****way ****to ****help ****him ****prepare ****for ****the ****tasks. ****You ****were ****disappointed ****that ****he ****didn****'****t ****ask ****you ****to ****the ****Yule ****Ball, ****so ****you ****took ****Viktor ****Krum****'****s ****offer ****when ****it ****came ****up ****hoping ****that ****Harry ****might ****then ****notice ****you ****at ****the ****ball. ****And ****this ****year, ****your ****feelings ****were ****starting ****to ****develop ****into ****something ****more ****so ****you ****pushed ****him ****as ****hard ****as ****you ****could ****to ****make ****sure ****that ****he ****could ****pass ****his ****O.W.L.s ****with ****passing ****grades.****"**

Hermione's jaw dropped even further at the end of this monologue and Jade was now watching her with a face so red it looked like a tomato. Finally she managed to speak long enough to whisper, "I… I believe you…" and ran out of the pagoda.

Jade moved to follow her but Kami held up her hand, **"****Wait. ****Let ****her ****work ****through ****it ****on ****her ****own.****" **Then she smiled, **"****This ****rather ****puts ****paid ****to ****your ****little ****qualm ****doesn****'****t ****it? ****The ****only ****problem ****with ****you ****choosing ****either ****to ****pass ****on ****or ****go ****to ****another ****place ****with ****no ****magic ****was ****that ****you ****were ****worried ****for ****Hermione. ****Now ****she ****can ****join ****you ****either ****way.****"**

Jade frowned, "What do you mean? Can't she go back to Hogwarts?"

Kami shook her head, **"****Not ****after ****exposure ****to ****me ****directly. ****I ****don****'****t ****quite ****know ****the ****technicalities ****of ****it****…"**

Jade frowned, "You're Kami, how do you not know the technicalities?"

Kami smacked the girl upside the head, **"****Just ****because ****I****'****m ****a ****goddess ****doesn****'****t ****mean ****I ****know ****everything!****"**

"You're omniscient! Of course you know everything!"

Kami frowned, **"****All ****the ****same****… ****this ****is ****one ****of ****the ****few ****things ****I ****don****'****t ****know; ****why ****people ****who ****are ****in ****my ****undiluted ****presence ****die ****immediately ****after ****returning ****to ****their ****physical ****realm.****"**

Jade sighed, "Alright. So Hermione can't go home. That'll devastate her, I think I've only met her parents once and I know she loves them dearly."

Kami looked sad, **"****I ****would ****help ****them****… ****but ****I ****can****'****t ****bring ****them ****here. ****It ****doesn****'****t ****work ****that ****way. ****I ****can ****modify ****their ****memories ****however ****so ****that ****they ****will ****move ****out ****of ****the ****country ****and ****not ****remember ****Hermione ****at ****all.****"**

Jade nodded, "That would be the best solution. Death Eaters might target her family. Oh and there is one more thing I'd like to be able to do before I move on…"

Kami frowned, **"****What?****"**

Jade whispered something into her ear and an evil grin crossed her face, **"****I ****really ****shouldn****'****t ****abuse ****my ****divine ****powers ****to ****do ****this ****but****… ****ah ****what ****the ****hell.****"**

-KC&K-

Tom Riddle was coming up with a plan of attack against the Ministry inside the Malfoy Manor when there was a sudden skittering noise and he turned around, only to be swamped by a tidal wave of fire ants.

As he felt their tiny stinging bites all over his body the Dark Lord yelled and tried to escape. But as quickly as they'd come, the fire ants were gone, leaving his skin red and raw.

Riddle staggered upright, cursing to himself before he heard a loud buzzing. He only had time to turn before he was attacked again, this time by a swarm of locusts which crawled inside his clothes and caused him to flail about on the floor, screaming in horror.

Again, the locusts were gone just as quickly as they'd come, but then an even louder buzzing drew his attention.

Riddle just had time to shout, "WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME? FIRST FIRE ANTS, THEN LOCUSTS, NOW WASPS AND HORNETS?" before the swarms of wasps and hornets were upon him, stinging him over and over again.

As their master shuddered on the floor, numerous Death Eaters stood around him. Finally Yaxley muttered, "Er, why is he doing that? There aren't any wasps or hornets around here, and I'm fairly certain there are no locusts or fire ants either."

Riddle's eyes widened at that moment as he screamed, "Why am I naked… AHHH! FANGIRLS!"

The Death Eaters recoiled as their master drew his wand, levelled it at Yaxley and shouted "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Yaxley was dead in seconds as the curse hit him squarely in the chest. The others turned and ran, assorted Killing Curses and dark hexes and jinxes missing them by inches and they dived for cover.

Suddenly the firing stopped. Lord Voldemort was suddenly spasming on the ground, before he finally dropped his wand and gave one long and high-pitched scream.

Riddle stared at the sight in front of him. Two men who looked almost identical were hugging in front of some kind of sunset on a beach, crashing waves and gleaming sand all around them.

Their chant filled Riddle's head:

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

Riddle covered his ears, "STOP! PLEASE STOP, I'LL DO ANYTHING YOU WANT; JUST MAKE IT STOP!"

It didn't stop, instead the two men suddenly ripped off the green spandex they were wearing before the older one shouted, "I must teach you a new method of stoking your flames of youth Lee! Now turn your back and bend over!"

**(A/N: The author would go into detail about the method by which Lee can stoke his flames of youth even higher, but it would appear that keyboards disagree with massive quantities of vomit.)**

At that last sentence Riddle's mind broke entirely. By the time the Death Eaters were brave enough to come out of hiding; Riddle was curled into a ball in the corner, clutching his knees and rocking back and forth, all the while muttering, "Flames of youth… all those flames of youth…"

-KC&K-

Back at the pagoda, Jade and Kami were laughing themselves sick.

"Where…" gasped Jade, wiping tears from her eyes under the glasses she no longer particularly needed since the seal breaking had corrected her sight (yet another side effect of the seal being that her sight wasn't worth crap at the best of times), "Where did you come up with that last part?"

Kami grinned, wiping tears from her own eyes and clutching a stitch in her side under her kimono, **"****One ****of ****the ****other ****worlds ****I ****regularly ****view. ****Well, ****all ****but ****the ****yaoi ****bit. ****That ****I ****came ****up ****with ****because ****I ****thought ****that ****he ****just ****needed ****one ****last ****poke ****and ****his ****mind ****would ****break.****"**

Jade grinned and high-fived the older woman, "Well it worked."

"Hello?"

A quiet voice from over by the door drew their attention, and they saw Hermione standing in the doorway looking unhappy. "Hermione? Is something wrong?" Jade stood up.

Hermione swallowed, "You… you mentioned a choice?"

Kami frowned, **"****You ****were ****listening.****"**

Hermione nodded meekly, before she repeated, "You mentioned a choice?"

Kami nodded and returned to her cushion next to the low table while Jade fetched another from the cupboard off to one side, **"****The ****choice ****I ****gave ****Jade ****on ****her ****arrival ****was ****this: ****pass ****on ****or ****be ****stripped ****of ****her ****magic ****and ****be ****placed ****into ****another ****world ****entirely.****"**

Hermione twisted her hands together, "And I can't go home?"

Kami shook her head, **"****I****'****m ****afraid ****not. ****I ****can ****protect ****your ****parents ****though. ****Change ****their ****memories ****so ****that ****they ****don****'****t ****remember ****you; ****change ****who ****they ****think ****they ****are ****and ****make ****them ****want ****to ****move ****elsewhere.****"**

Hermione nodded, "Can you please do that? Please? I'd feel much better about not being able to go home if I knew they were safe."

Kami nodded, **"****Well ****then? ****Do ****you ****two ****want ****to ****pass ****on, ****or ****be ****stripped ****of ****your ****magic ****and ****placed ****elsewhere?****"**

Hermione turned to look at Jade, who had returned with another cushion and knelt beside Hermione. Jade smiled and reached for Hermione's left hand with her right, giving it a comforting squeeze.

Hermione swallowed and said, "I'll take the latter option."

Jade nodded, "Likewise."

Kami nodded and held out her hand towards them, a small ball of power coalescing in her palm as a soft undertone of power filtered into her voice, **"****Your ****new ****names ****for ****your ****new ****lives ****are ****Senna ****and ****Shiori. ****I ****will ****also ****give ****both ****of ****you ****unique ****abilities ****to ****help ****you ****set ****yourselves ****up ****in ****the ****new ****world. ****You ****will ****also ****lose ****your ****magic ****and ****any ****knowledge ****of ****such ****magic, ****but ****you ****will ****maintain ****your ****memories ****of ****each ****other ****and ****be ****able ****to ****speak ****the ****normal ****language ****there. ****As ****far ****as ****the ****two ****of ****you ****will ****be ****concerned, ****you****'****ll ****have ****been ****friends ****since ****you ****were ****little ****kids.****"**

She split the orb into two, holding one in each hand before thrusting both forwards into Hermione's and Jade's chests and sending both backwards off their cushions onto the floor, unconscious.

By the time they woke up, they would be in a completely different world, with completely different abilities and completely different friends.

Chapter One: Meeting Naruto

Senna stirred.

Rolling over, she saw her friend lying beside her, eyes closed and breathing steady. "Shiori?" Senna croaked, crawling towards her friend.

"Hello?" said a male voice. Senna stopped and rolled over.

Before them stood a boy of about six or seven, with vivid yellow hair and blue eyes and wearing an orange jumpsuit. Senna gave a small smile, "Hello. I'm Senna. And you are?"

The boy grinned, "Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage!"

Senna frowned, "Ho…kage?"

Naruto walked over and held out a hand, which Senna took and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet before she turned and helped Shiori upright. Once the brunette was on her feet, Senna turned back to Naruto, "So what's a Hokage?"

Naruto gave her an odd look, "Aren't you from around here?"

Senna shook her head, before noticing for the first time that something was amiss. Both she and Shiori had seemingly regressed back to being about the same age as the boy in front of them. Recovering, she said, "No. My friend Shiori and I are from elsewhere; we decided to move here together."

Naruto grinned, "Okay! You'll want to meet my jiji then! Come on!"

Senna and Shiori nodded and followed the excitable blond down the path.

-KC&K-

Senna dropped onto the settee in their new apartment. They had been startled to discover that Naruto's jiji was in fact the 'Hokage' he had mentioned earlier, and apparently 'Hokage' was the title given to the leader of the village.

He had asked them a lot of questions about where they came from and had seemed discontented with their story that they couldn't remember where they came from. Senna suspected that the only reason they hadn't been arrested was because Naruto had vouched for them and they were kids.

Finally the man had set them both up in an apartment next door to Naruto with a cat-masked woman on guard who was apparently in something called "ANBU". Naruto had finished doing whatever in his own apartment and then come over to fill them in on what he knew about the mechanics of the village.

"So," said Shiori a little while later, "There are four ranks of ninja in the village… genin, chūnin, jōnin and ANBU. The Hokage is the head ninja, and only the five major villages can have them. Do you know what the others are called?"

Naruto shrugged, but the ANBU at one side of the room spoke, "I can answer that. Suna, to the west of us in the desert, has the Kazekage. Kiri, in the sea to our south-east, has the Mizukage. Kumo, in the far north-east has the Raikage and Iwa in the far north-west has the Tsuchikage."

Naruto's lip curled, "And I sometimes wonder whether they might be more inclined to give someone like _me_ the benefit of the doubt."

Shiori's eyebrow quirked up at the sudden venom in the previously-chipper Naruto's voice, "Is something wrong here?"

Naruto opened his mouth but the ANBU cut him off, "Young Uzumaki is not well-liked in this village for certain reasons that I am not at liberty to divulge."

Senna frowned before saying, "Okay… You got any ideas though, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto frowned, "I don't know, but I think my being called a "demon", "monster" and "freak" may have something to do with it."

Senna's eyes softened. Without even thinking about it, she stood up and walked over to Naruto, giving him a tight hug before returning to her seat.

Naruto blushed as Shiori smiled and joined the hug, Naruto's blush getting steadily deeper until the two girls broke away and returned to their seats, Neko smiling at the heart-warming scene.

-KC&K-

**Two weeks later.**

"So, Yūgao-chan, what's this I hear about you being in charge of two girls who just moved into the area?" asked a woman with red eyes and wild black hair. This was Kurenai Yūhi, one of Konoha's foremost genjutsu experts and soon to be a jōnin.

Yūgao smiled, "It's true. Their names are Senna and Shiori."

"And what do you think of them both?"

Yūgao tapped her finger against her chin for a moment before she smiled, "They're excellent. If I wasn't perfectly happy in ANBU, I'd take them on as a genin team when they graduate from the Academy. They're smart, eager to learn, and they don't judge people by what others think. I know that Naruto Uzumaki was the one to first meet them when they arrived, and they did actually witness how the villagers treat him. Even so, they still want to be friends with him. Hell, the girl Senna seems to relate to him somehow; I just can't work out why or how."

Another girl in the group, who had brown hair and red fang-markings on her cheeks, smiled, "Isn't your jōnin exam coming up soon, Nai-chan?" This was Hana Inuzuka, a chūnin vet and partner of the Haimaru siblings who were sleeping under the table.

Kurenai nodded, "Yes it is. I'm hoping to be a jōnin-sensei."

The last woman at the table, who had violet hair tied up into a spiky ponytail and brown eyes, took a bite from her stick of dango and smirked, "Eh, I don't see the attraction of taking care of a group of brats."

Yūgao grinned, "If you met these two girls you wouldn't say that. As I said before, I'd take them on if I wasn't happy in ANBU."

Kurenai smiled, "If I pass my jōnin exam, maybe I could make an all-female team."

Hana chuckled, "I think I know who the third girl would be. Hinata Hyūga, correct?"

Kurenai nodded, "Yes. The girl I've been on a mission to look out for."

Yūgao grinned, "Well, I would recommend you keep a close eye on those two. They'll be excellent kunoichi in a few years."

Hana smiled, "How about we make a deal now? If Nai-chan gets them, why don't we share? I must confess I'm now somewhat interested in these two."

Kurenai frowned, "What will we teach them though?"

Hana smiled, "Teamwork. The Inuzuka are one of the best examples of that, aren't they?"

Anko smirked, "Hmm… torture and interrogation methods?"

Yūgao chuckled, "Maybe later, Anko-chan. As for me… I think I'll wait until I see what they're capable of later on before I decide. I have a feeling that we haven't yet seen all they have to reveal."

_To be continued..._

**(A/N: Yeah, so this idea occurred to me a pretty long time ago and as usual I started writing it so the plot bunny would shut up. Now, before anyone remarks that I'm bordering on yaoi with this I wish to point out that I'm trying to remove "Harry" from the equation as quickly as possible so that people will only see "Senna", regardless that "Harry" never actually existed as anything more than a mask. I really do like people to enjoy what I write and I don't feel like I'm doing it right if they don't. As for why I cut it here, think of it as a hint as to what's coming later. I hope you enjoyed this and as always, read and review. I'd like to hear what you liked and what you hated. Until next time folks, this is Leonineus saying GOODNIGHT!)**

**(A/N: Oh, and for those of you who read my other works; I'm a little further along with the ROOT fight but not by much. Odds are this next chapter is going to be much longer than I originally believed it'd be.)**

**(A/N: Oh and one more thing. Do you guys think I should change the title? I'm not sure but it just doesn't sound quite right to me. Any thoughts, drop me a review.)**


	5. Naruto: Unmasked

Unmasked

Chapter One: Revealed

Hinata moved closer to the door of Naruto's apartment, listening for noises from within.

She had seen Naruto return from his C-ranked mission earlier that day, and the blond had looked so upset she had decided to go by his house to see how he was doing.

Hinata pulled a senbon from her pocket and activated her Byakugan, before starting to pick the lock on the front door. As the lock finally gave a soft click and the door swung open, Hinata slipped inside and shut it behind her again.

Hearing a soft sound from the bathroom, Hinata crept towards it and kept herself out of sight of the door.

Her Byakugan picked up Naruto standing beside the mirror, before she noticed something odd about the boy's appearance she hadn't ever noticed before. He didn't seem to have a distinct chakra network; he just looked like there was a shroud of chakra wrapped around him like a second skin.

"_That __looks __like __a __henge,__" _Hinata thought in confusion, _"__But __why __would __Naruto-kun __henge __to __look __like __himself?__"_

Her thoughts were interrupted a second later as Naruto raised his hands into a seal and muttered, "Kai."

The henge immediately disappeared, and Hinata's eyes widened as a female version of Naruto appeared, but seemingly with deliberate mistakes.

The female Naruto's eyes, which she could see in the mirror, were a shade somewhere between vivid blue and deep violet, while her hair cascaded down her back in a long sheet of gold striped with plum red.

The female Naruto took a deep breath before she scowled at the mirror, "I hate this. Having to pretend to be something I'm not, just so that I don't get assaulted by some mongrel villager who thinks I deserve to be some kind of whore because the Yondaime sealed _that_ inside me. I hate it. Pretending I like that pink-haired fangirl, pretending to be some idiot who thinks henging into a naked girl will have any effect on a trained shinobi other than ero-Kakashi, I'm sick of it! But I can't admit that I've pulled the wool over everyone's eyes… I'm such a coward!" There was a loud smashing noise and Hinata winced as the female Naruto punched the mirror, breaking it into thousands of pieces.

Tears rolled down Naruto's cheeks as she regarded her bloodied knuckles, before she suddenly clutched at her head and screamed, "SHUT UP! YOU MADE ME KILL HER, YOU MADE ME DO IT! THE ONLY REAL FRIEND I'VE EVER BEEN ABLE TO MAKE BECAUSE OF YOU AND _YOU_ MADE ME KILL HER! JUST SHUT UP!"

There was no response, but Naruto slumped against the sink and began crying even harder, "After Sasuke got hit… I lost it completely. I don't know what happened… I just came round later and Kakashi-sensei told me Haku was dead… why?"

Hinata frowned, then her eyes went wide as Naruto picked up a large piece of broken glass and held it tightly in her fist, blood dripping from between her fingers where the glass had undoubtedly cut in, "Maybe the villagers are right… I _am_ a monster…"

Hinata couldn't take it any more; she stepped around the door frame and crouched next to Naruto, taking the glass from her hand.

Naruto's head snapped around, "H-Hinata! I-I didn't want anybody to see me like this!" She bolted past Hinata into the bedroom and slammed the door.

Hinata dropped the bloody piece of glass back onto the floor and followed Naruto to the bedroom door, where she knocked.

"G-Go away! I don't want to talk to anyone!"

Hinata sighed, "Naruto-kun… I just want to help!"

"I-I… I'm okay, Hinata… please just go!"

Hinata shook her head, "I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong." She opened the door.

Naruto was curled up on the bed, hugging her knees and rocking backwards and forwards, staring at the opposite wall.

Hinata sat down on the edge of the bed, "What is the matter, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto gave her the standard foxy grin, "Nothing's the matter, Hinata. I'm just having an off moment."

Hinata frowned, "But Naruto-kun, you seemed upset in the bathroom."

Naruto's grin didn't waver, "As I said, I'm just having an off moment. There's nothing to worry about, Hinata."

Hinata stared at her sadly, "You give me that smile but I can see though it to the pain inside, Naruto-kun."

Naruto's smile slackened slightly before disappearing entirely. The blonde sagged forwards; apparently allowing Hinata nonverbal permission to pursue the issue. Hinata took full advantage of the permission, "What's the problem, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto took a deep breath before speaking, "It's not Naruto… it's Naruko. Naruto was an identity I created to protect myself when I learnt to use henge. Pretending to be a boy almost worthless as a ninja seemed a far better method of staying below the radar than a girl with some actual skill at the job."

Hinata nodded, understanding the logic as Naruko continued, "I didn't make any friends, not because I wouldn't but because I couldn't. Their families discouraged making contact with me… no, please don't ask me why because I don't want to talk about it… and anyone who showed me even the slightest signs of friendship was targeted. Therefore I shut myself away and avoided contact with others for fear of getting them in trouble."

She stared at the opposite wall before speaking for a third time, "By the time I graduated from the Academy, I had become so accustomed to holding back that I almost got my team failed by our sensei, however I don't think he realized I was holding back. It's a lot harder to tell when somebody is holding back when they don't realize they're holding back, isn't it?"

Hinata nodded, "And what about now? What happened on this mission that changed all that?"

Naruko's eye filled with tears and she was forced to wipe her face before she started to explain. "It was supposed to be a routine C-rank mission. We escort a bridge-builder to Wave protecting him from bandits and the like then keep an eye on him until the bridge was finished. Instead we were attacked by two chūnin-level missing-nins less than an hour after we left Konoha."

Hinata gasped, but Naruko continued without pausing, "We defeated both and got an explanation from the bridge-builder, whose name was Tazuna. His homeland was being ruled with an iron fist by a guy called Gatō, who was slowly bleeding the country dry. We decided to continue on, and got to Wave quite quickly. Then things started going wrong."

She swallowed, "We were attacked by a jōnin-level missing-nin, Zabuza Momochi of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Kakashi-sensei managed to drive him off but passed out from chakra exhaustion. For the next week we trained, and I met this girl named Haku in the woods one morning. She told me her philosophy; that a person can only become truly strong if they have a precious person they want to protect. We ended up parting as friends."

A tear slid down her cheek and was intercepted by one slim finger before Naruko continued, "The next day, on the bridge, Zabuza attacked again. He had a hunter-nin accomplice with an ice kekkei genkai, who Sasuke and I fought. I realized it was Haku as soon as she said the name of her first jutsu; that her precious person was actually Zabuza. She tried to spare me, tried to spare both of us, but Sasuke attacked her directly. She threw a load of senbon at us, and Sasuke… I think he thought they were aimed at me… he says his body moved on its own, but he took all the senbon in his back trying to protect me."

Naruko began to cry in earnest, but continued to speak, "I… I thought he was dead… Haku remarked that she was sorry she'd killed him and I just… lost it. It was like a red mist coming down and that was it."

Hinata shifted closer and slipped an arm around the other girl's shoulders as her body quaked with sobs, "When I woke up… I was back in Tazuna's house… and Kakashi was sitting next to me. He said… he said…" her sobbing intensified until she was barely able to speak, "He said I went mad with grief because I thought Sasuke died and killed Haku!" She buried her face in the shoulder of Hinata's jacket and completely broke down.

Hinata tapped Naruko on the back, "Naruko-chan? Lie down for a little rest, I'll be back soon."

Naruko nodded and lay down on the bed, closing her eyes.

Hinata slipped out of the apartment and quietly closed the front door behind her.

-U-

Kurenai was just walking to meet her friends at Moritake's when Hinata suddenly appeared at her elbow, "Sensei, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Kurenai smiled, "Of course Hinata, what's the problem?"

Hinata looked worried, "A friend is having a really bad time at the moment, and if you're not busy would you mind helping me with her?"

Kurenai frowned. She wasn't aware that her female genin had any friends, since Hinata had chosen to set herself apart from her peers in the Academy by pursuing Naruto instead of the Uchiha. Unable to restrain her curiosity she said, "Of course Hinata, lead the way."

-U-

"So this is where she lives?" asked Kurenai, looking at the dilapidated front door.

Hinata nodded, having filled Kurenai in on Naruko's situation and everything she had either overheard or been told by Naruko. "Yes. You'll see when we get inside why I was worried for her."

She opened the front door and walked through, holding it open for her sensei, before walking towards the closed bedroom door.

Kurenai looked around as she followed, unable to suppress a faint feeling of distaste at the squalid conditions inside the apartment.

Hinata quietly opened the bedroom door and walked over to the bed, leaving Kurenai to stop dead in the doorway and frown, _"__She __looks __so __familiar__… __but __why?__"_

Hinata touched Naruko's shoulder and shook her gently, "Naruko-chan…"

Naruko rolled over, mumbled something indecipherable and opened her eyes. The first person she saw was Hinata, before her eyes drifted across and locked onto Kurenai.

The girl freaked. With a scream of shocked fear she bounded off the bed, charged past Kurenai into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.

Hinata swallowed, "I should've mentioned she might freak out a little since she isn't expecting to see you…"

Kurenai nodded, walking to the door and tapping on it, "Naruko… I'm here to help. Please let me in." She tried the doorknob, but while it did turn the door refused to budge. "Hinata, is it bolted?"

Hinata activated her Byakugan, "No… if I had to guess I'd say somebody smashed the door in because the lock is broken. She's used what I think are chakra chains to block the door."

Kurenai's head snapped around, "Did you just say chakra chains?"

When Hinata nodded, Kurenai lapsed into thought, _"__Chakra __chains__… __Kushina-sensei__… __She __couldn__'__t __possibly __be __her __daughter, __could __she?__"_

"Hinata, I have to go see the Hokage briefly. Can you try to calm her down and get her to come out?"

Hinata nodded and Kurenai immediately disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

-U-

Kakashi was just handing in his report for the mission to Wave when Kurenai suddenly appeared in the middle of the room, "Hokage-sama, I need to talk to you about… oh, hello Kakashi."

Kakashi eye-smiled, "Hello Kurenai, I'm just handing in my report from our mission."

Kurenai held out a hand, "May I take a look?"

Kakashi nodded, "Certainly," and handed over the file.

Kurenai quickly leafed through it and finally stopped on the last page. After scanning its contents she looked up at Kakashi, "Why did you lie to her?"

Kakashi looked slightly puzzled, "I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't lied to Sakura at all, particularly not on that mission."

Kurenai hit him in the chest with the file, "I'm not talking about her! I'm talking about Naruko!"

Kakashi's expression turned even more puzzled, "Kurenai… Naru_to_ is a boy."

There was a soft murmur of dissent from the Hokage, who Kurenai turned to, "You knew about it, didn't you?"

Sarutobi nodded, "Yes. Naruko came to me as soon as she had the idea and I taught her the necessary technique. I believe she was six at the time. I even modified her file so that she would seem to be a male named Naruto, so nobody could find out the truth."

Kakashi interjected, "I'm still missing something here, what did I apparently lie abou- OW! OW!"

Kurenai had grabbed hold of his ear and twisted, sending the masked jōnin to his knees, "You told her the Kyūbi took over and she killed that ice-using ninja she'd made friends with in a demon-chakra-fuelled rage! Your report says that same ninja used their body as a shield for Zabuza Momochi and took your jutsu straight through her chest!"

Kakashi winced, "Why does it matter? It was easier to tell her a harmless little lie than it was to tell her the truth!"

"Because," shouted Kurenai angrily, "If it weren't for the actions of one of my genin, that girl would be lying in her bathroom bleeding out by her wrists at this point thanks to your "harmless little lie"!"

Sarutobi stood up, "What?"

Kurenai turned to him, "Hinata went around to Naruko's apartment in an attempt to cheer her up after seeing how upset she looked on coming back into the village. Naruko was in the bathroom; she punched the mirror and clutched at her head, screaming at what I suspect to have been the Kyūbi to shut up, that it was his fault she never made any friends and that she just killed the only one she had. She was about to cut herself with a shard of glass from the mirror when Hinata intervened."

Sarutobi walked around the desk and stood in front of Kakashi, "You had better have a good excuse for telling Naruko she killed the first real friend her age she'd ever had or I am going to demote you back to genin and have you doing D-ranks for the rest of your life."

Kakashi winced as Kurenai twisted his ear again before saying, "Ow! I told her that because it was an easier story for her to believe than the girl throwing herself in front of Zabuza!"

Kurenai shook him, "Did it occur to you that that wasn't what Naruko needed to hear? You're coming down to Naruko's apartment and telling her the truth!"

Sarutobi gripped Kakashi's shoulder, "I agree. You don't have a choice in this, Kakashi."

The three of them disappeared.

-U-

Hinata had finally managed to coax Naruko out of the bathroom, so the indigo-haired girl was currently making some mint tea in the kitchen while Naruko curled up on the couch with a blanket.

A cry of "Jiji!" drew Hinata's attention, and she came out of the kitchen carrying two cups of tea on a tray to find the Hokage, Kakashi and Kurenai standing in front of Naruko.

"Naruko-chan," said Sarutobi, "Kakashi has something to say to you."

Naruko's eyes locked onto Kakashi's and he inwardly groaned as he saw both Minato's and Kushina's eyes staring back at him at the same time; the bright blue of Minato's blended with the deep violet of Kushina's. He decided to eye-smile and try to bluff his way out, "I… I got your pay for the mission and I'll get it to you in due course." He tugged his ear from Kurenai's grip and tried to walk towards the door, but found he couldn't move his feet.

Looking down, he saw that his feet were suddenly shackled to the floor with chakra chains and cuffs. "Kakashi-sensei, what aren't you telling me…?"

Kakashi went rigid as he heard Naruko's voice. That was a tone he hadn't heard in years and had only heard _once_, when Minato had forgotten both a gift for his and Kushina's second wedding anniversary and the date itself and gone out with Jiraiya and Kakashi himself to the bar.

When Kushina had found them, she had been so angry she appeared calm, but the waves of killing intent coming off her were drowning the nearest civilians.

Kakashi had never been sure what Kushina had done to punish Minato, but for the next week he had been walking funny and jumping at shadows.

Now, Kakashi broke out in a cold sweat as he heard Kushina's voice echoing back to him from across the years, still sounding as sugary-sweet as it had then, _"__Minato-kun? __Have __you __forgotten __what __day __it __is?__"_

He turned slowly to find Naruko staring directly into his eyes, her curious expression gripping his heart and squeezing it in a frost-bound steel vice. "Sensei… what aren't you telling me?"

Kakashi felt Kurenai's fingers clamp down on his ear again, "I… I lied to you about how it went after you passed out, Naruko. You didn't lose it and kill that girl… she tried to act as a human shield for Zabuza when I charged at him… and took my jutsu straight through her chest."

Naruko's eyes went blank with shock, and then hardened. "You lied to me… I trusted you, and you lied to me! I can't trust you any more!"

Kurenai took over, "Hokage-sama, may I take Naruko?"

Sarutobi looked around at her, "Don't you have three genin?"

Kurenai turned a hard glare on Kakashi, "Yes, but I'm not sure having Kiba is conducive to a proper team dynamic. He's basically a pervert, takes every opportunity to hit on Hinata and butts heads with Shino every fifteen minutes. I think he would be fine with Kakashi."

Sarutobi adopted an evil smile, "I'll put the paperwork through when I get back to the office, as for _you_…" He grinned at Kakashi, who whimpered.

"Kakashi, your punishments are these: Naruko is allowed free reign on your Icha Icha collection while you will watch her. You are then forbidden from buying any more. After that, you will…" but was interrupted by a knock at the door.

Hinata answered it, revealing two green-clad black-haired men on the doorstep. The taller one beamed, "Naruto-san! We heard from one of the ANBU in Hokage-sama's office that your flames of youth were somewhat dampened, so we decided to come by to see if we could cheer you up!"

There was a flash of plum-tinted yellow as Naruko shot past the rest of the people in her sitting room and hugged the man, "Bushy-brows and Bushier-Brows-sensei!"

The shorter figure blinked, "You look very different, Naruto-san…"

Naru shrugged, "I'll explain later. Come in!"

Sarutobi blinked, "You know Maito Gai, Naruko?"

Naruko nodded happily, "I met him in my first year at the Academy. He caught me spying on one of his training sessions with Bushy-brows and gave me a few tips on how to improve my taijutsu!"

Gai nodded and sat down, "Naruto-san's abilities make him an excellent training partner for Lee-kun because he's almost impossible to tire out. So, what was dampening your flames of youth, Naruto-san?"

Naruko smiled, "It's just Naruko, and Kakashi-teme lied to me about something that happened on our first C-rank mission which turned into an A-rank, so I'm going to be transferred to Kurenai-sensei's team!"

Gai turned his eyes on Kakashi, "Did you lie to Naruko-san, my eternal rival?"

Naruko's face adopted a foxily evil look which made Kakashi whimper when he saw it, "I have an idea. Bushier-brows-sensei, why don't you take Kakashi on to try and get rid of some of his unyouthful urges?"

There was a blur of blue and green and Kakashi was suddenly hugging Naruko's leg, "I swear I will never lie to you again, in fact I will teach you any jutsu you so desire as long as you do not turn me over to Gai!"

Naruko shook her leg out of Kakashi's grip, "Get off. You deserve this. But I still want that thing with the Icha Icha first."

Sarutobi nodded as chakra chains trapped Kakashi's arms and legs, "Gai, please go to Kakashi's house and gather up his Icha Icha collection, then bring them back here."

The jōnin nodded and left the apartment.

-U-

Gai returned in fifteen minutes, by which time Kakashi had been transferred to a chair and strapped down with more chakra chains.

It was as Naruko was examining the books and preparing to destroy them that Kurenai turned to Sarutobi, "Hokage-sama… those chakra chains. Kushina-sensei could create those… is Naruko her daughter?"

Sarutobi nodded, "Yes… and I'm pleased to see that she got the best of both her parents."

Kurenai's eyes went wide, "Does that mean… Kushina-sensei's husband was…"

Sarutobi brought a finger to his lips, "I'll have to tell her soon anyway."

Kurenai's reply was drowned out by Kakashi's wail of misery as Naruko picked up the first volume of Icha Icha, broke the spine and then tore it in half down the middle.

-U-

"So," said Kurenai later that evening as she, Naruko and Hinata walked into Kurenai's apartment, "Did you enjoy getting back at Kakashi?"

Naruko chuckled, "Yep. Thank you for providing that copy of Icha Icha Yaoi… I was quite disappointed that he didn't seem to like it that much though."

Kurenai laughed, "I agree. Maybe I should suggest that to my friend Anko as a good method of getting information in the ANBU T&I department… Anyway," she opened a door and pointed inside, "This will be your new room, Naruko."

Naruko nodded, before she looked over at Hinata, "But what about Hina-chan?"

Kurenai smiled, "Hinata has her own home, so she'll be going there."

Naruko nodded, "When's our first session as a team?"

Kurenai smiled, "The day after tomorrow. Tomorrow is devoted to a shopping trip for the three of us to get you some better clothes and such."

As Naruko nodded, an ANBU appeared on the balcony and knocked on the window. Kurenai opened it and the ANBU gave her a note from the Hokage, which she opened and read.

_Kurenai,_

_You have permission to tell Naruko about who her parents are on the condition that she is discreet about it for the time being._

_Sarutobi._

Kurenai smiled, "Naruko, I'd like a quick word with you about something very important…"

-U-

Naruko was rather quiet when Hinata came by to meet them the next morning, but livened up as they walked into the village. Or at least, she livened up until a shopkeeper shouted at her to get out of his shop or be beaten.

Neither Naruko nor Hinata was certain what Kurenai actually did, but when the man suddenly squawked like a chicken and ran off down the street with his hands tucked to his armpits, neither could help but laugh.

When they walked out of the shop two hours later (Kurenai having stood over one of the shop clerks cleaning under her fingernails with a kunai to make a point), Naruko was almost unrecognizable.

Instead of the baggy and worn orange jumpsuit, she was now wearing a smaller version of Kurenai's normal clothing with the inclusion of a deep blue bandana to keep her bangs out of her eyes, while Kurenai had plaited her hair down her back. Since it hadn't been cut for such a long time (apparently her hair kept on growing even in the male henge), it had ended up hanging down to her calves much like Kurenai said her mother's had. Naruko had found a large metal ring in the bargain box which served an unknown purpose, so she had bought it and worked it into the end of her plait so that she could use it as a weapon if she needed to.

**(A/N: Soooo... yeah. This one might be subject to a massive rewrite before I deem it ready for publishing officially, but that's where you lot come in. What do you think? Is it bad, is it good, should I scrap it and try again? Should I change Naruko's new outfit or keep it as is? Click that dinky little button, leave a review with your thoughts and hopefully I can bring this up to the standard of my other fics!**

**Also, this is for the people who are expecting an update out of me... Reign is currently at 4-4.5k words, so chances are I might be able to update soon; if not before New Year's then very soon after it. Until then folks I say adios and merry Christmas to you all. Leonineus, OUT!)**

**(A/N 2: Oh yes, something I forgot to mention earlier; how would all my wonderful readers like it if I set up a Tumblr account solely for the purpose of updating you all as to how I'm doing on one fic or another? It would save me from having to wait for a chapter to be ready before making the announcement. It's down to you, people, so leave a review!)**


	6. Naruto: The Cerulean Wyvern

The Cerulean Wyvern

**(A/N: First I should probably make a few announcements. The Muse left for a while but seems to be returning… except there's a problem. Jutsu and Sage may or may not be completely dead, while Reign and ROOT are still up in the air. Maelstrom and, as had been stated before, Blade are both getting rewritten as I speak. For the moment, I'm uploading this to show that I AM still alive so do not lose hope, people!)**

Prologue

_In Uzushiogakure no Sato, hidden deep under the ruins of the village, twelve people sat around a large table. One of them sat forwards, pushing a file into the middle of the table so that the one directly opposite him could take it. "Is this him?" said the second figure, a woman by her voice, as she examined the file._

"_Yes," said the first figure, a man with a deep voice, "This is the last Uzumaki we know of that currently dwells outside the village. His name is…"_

"…_Naruto," finished the woman. Violet eyes glittered from beneath the hood, and two long dark red bangs dropped from below the shadow of her hood. "His name is Naruto."_

_The man nodded quietly, "Alright. Well, he might be the child capable of leading us back into the light."_

_The woman nodded, tilting her head to one side as she examined the picture of the boy in front of her. _"He looks just like Minato-kun," _she thought, _"…my son."

_Kushina Uzumaki gazed down at the picture of her son for a long moment before she said, "Very well. Dispatch a team to Konohagakure to retrieve Naruto and bring him back here."_

_As the man nodded and walked towards the door, Kushina raised a hand, "And…" The man stopped and turned back. She raised her eyes towards him, "Be careful with him. Considering what I know him to carry, he may be suspicious of you. I don't want him badly hurt; we need him."_

_The man nodded, "I will be careful with him, Kushina-sama."_

Chapter One: I Have Returned

Naruto sighed as he used a drainpipe to quickly turn into a corner and dived into one of his hideouts behind a pile of old crates before curling into a ball before the twelve-strong gang thundered around the corner and went straight past his hiding place.

"Suckers," muttered Naruto as he crawled out of the hideout and smirked, "Idiots can never catch me. When they try, they fail."

"Naruto Uzumaki?"

Naruto jumped and fell back onto his backside, "Whoa! Don't sneak up on me like that, jiji! Wait… you're not my jiji!"

The man standing over him chuckled, "No, I'm not your jiji. I _do _know your kaa-san, however."

Naruto's eyes lit up, "My kaa-san? You know my kaa-san?"

The man smiled, "Yeah, I do. She's very eager to see you again, little man."

Naruto pouted, "I'm not little!"

"Hey!" a voice shouted from the end of the alley and both Naruto and the man looked up. One member of the gang had turned and seen Naruto talking, "Brat! Stay right there!"

The group started to move back towards Naruto, but the man stepped in their path and set his hand on the hilt of the katana hanging from his hip, "This boy is the son of my clan leader, and you will not touch him."

One particularly stupid member of the band looked around and said, "You're somewhat outnumbered, aren't you? One of you against all of us?"

The man chuckled, "Who said I was alone?" Almost immediately, eleven figures appeared behind the first man and drew their own weapons.

There was a swishing sound and two of the men turned to see a figure in red and white robes appeared in front of them, "What are you doing?"

The lead ninja stepped through the group to face the Hokage, "We come on behalf of the Uzumaki. We have come to reclaim our clan head's lost child."

Sarutobi stiffened before he nodded his head, "Kushina-chan is still alive then?"

At the man's nod, he said, "Very well."

"Hokage-sama?" said one of the dozen Naruto-haters in the alley, "Why are you siding with the demon lovers? The demon killed the Yondaime!"

Sarutobi's face hardened before he turned to the man he had been speaking to, "As much as I hate to make such a request of you, I feel I need to mend a rift in my village's security."

The man stared at Sarutobi for a long moment before he said, "I understand."

Sarutobi nodded, "I don't believe I got your name."

The man smiled, "It's Kōen, Kōen Uzumaki. I am Kushina-sama's bodyguard and right-hand man."

Sarutobi nodded and took a step backwards.

Kōen turned to his cohorts and gave a single nod.

Three of them immediately turned around and raised their weapons as a fourth bent down and covered Naruto's eyes.

There wasn't even any blood; one second the three shinobi were standing with their group, the next they were standing on the other side of the gang and each member of said gang was lying on the ground in two or more pieces.

Sarutobi clicked his fingers, summoning a squad of ANBU to start clearing up as he turned to Kōen, "How long do you intend to have Naruto out of the village?"

Kōen gave him a single look, "I do not know; that is for Kushina-sama to decide."

He walked over to Naruto and escorted him to the Hokage, who knelt down, "Goodbye Naruto. Enjoy seeing your mother again."

Naruto beamed, "I will, jiji! See you soon!"

Sarutobi smiled and with that, Naruto, Kōen and the other Uzu shinobi disappeared.

-TCW-

**One week later.**

Kushina was enjoying a bowl of ramen on the futon in her office while her Kage Bunshin dealt with the day's paperwork when an Uzu shinobi entered, "Kushina-sama, Kōen has returned."

Kushina sat up; expertly balancing her half-full bowl to make sure it didn't spill before sweeping past the shinobi along the corridor.

She walked out into the main hall to find Kōen and his group standing around a small figure and pointing out the features of the hall to him. As Kushina walked towards them, a shinobi opening the door behind her caused a whiff of delicious ramen smell to waft over to the group.

Kushina stopped as the boy turned towards her, before his eyes seemed to lock onto the bowl in her hands and a grin spread across his face, "RAMEN! I SMELL RAMEN!"

Sweatdrops ran down the heads of everybody in the room but Naruto and Kushina as the tiny blond shot forwards and tackled Kushina, deftly removing the ramen bowl from her grip before chugging the contents in one motion.

Shocked silence filled the room as killing intent began to leak from Kushina before she sat up and picked the boy up by the collar, "What do you think you are doing? Nobody steals my… ra… men…"

Her angry face melted into blank shock as she looked into a face she hadn't seen in seven and a half years. "N… Naruto?"

Kōen chose this moment to speak up, "We have returned with your son, Kushina-sama."

Naruto stared blankly at her, "A-Are you my kaa-san?"

Kushina stared at him for a long moment before she suddenly gave the boy a rib-cracking hug, "My sochi… My dear sochi…"

-TCW-

"So," said Kushina happily as she made some ramen for herself and her son, "How has your life in Konoha been?"

Naruto shrugged, "Nobody really liked me back in Konoha and I didn't know why, but I didn't actually care. I ended up building hideouts around Konoha and they couldn't find me after that. They did stumble upon some of my hideouts or see me entering them and I'd get beaten up a bit when that happened but it didn't happen often."

Kushina scowled, "I'm sorry I had to leave you there. The council gave me the option to leave you behind or have everybody I cared about accused of treason and you executed. Sarutobi didn't say anything about it; he couldn't. Nobody knew I was married to Minato; as far as the majority of the village knew I was just some gold-digging slag who was after his money…" Her voice faltered.

Naruto slipped from his chair and walked up to her, wrapping his arms around her waist in a comforting hug. Kushina patted his head before returning to the ramen.

"Kaa-san?"

Kushina smiled as she set a bowl of ramen in front of her son and sat down with her own, "Yes, Naruto-kun?"

"Will I ever be going back to Konoha?"

Kushina picked up some of her noodles and swallowed them before nodding, "If you want to. Why?"

Naruto frowned, "Jiji made me promise to visit, and I also made a few friends in my pre-Academy class… I wasn't able to say goodbye to them."

Kushina smiled, "You made some friends at least… who were they?"

Naruto frowned, "Well…"

-TCW-

The next week, Naruto was standing in a large hall with Kōen, Kushina and a tall man who introduced himself as Akutō, whose skin was so matted with scars that it was almost impossible to tell what he might have originally looked like.

The first thing Akutō did was ask him what ninja skills he already knew, only to be disappointed when Naruto revealed he had not yet started at the Academy.

"What does Konoha think they're doing?" he tutted, "Here in Uzu, we used to put our ninja into the Academy as soon as they turned six and during the last war it took three hidden villages to overwhelm us, and we _still _kicked their asses!"

Naruto's eyes went wide, "Really?"

Akutō nodded proudly, "Yep, we did it. See, back then there was only one way into Uzu that could be easily found or even attacked from the outside. You couldn't get in any other way. Our three hundred ANBU, our highest-trained shinobi, held that entrance so that the civilians could escape out of the back ways. Between the forces of Kumo, Iwa and Kiri that they sent, the invading force was about ten thousand strong… and of that, only about a thousand limped off with their tails between their legs."

Naruto's eyes were wide as he stared up at Akutō, his child's brain incapable of grasping the vastness of those figures. Akutō laughed at the wonder in his face, "It's true! Of those three hundred ANBU, only one survived… me! I had the misfortune of being knocked unconscious by an Iwa-nin's boulder attack which clipped me on the head, and was later found by a few of our guys who were digging through the battlefield for survivors. Now I train our guys back to what they used to be, back in the glory days of Uzu!"

He roared this last to the whole room, who replied with one voice, "FOR THE GLORY OF UZU!"

Kushina chuckled, "Don't break him, Akutō. I'd like him trained to enough of a degree that he can take the Chūnin Exams by twelve."

Akutō chuckled, "Of course not, Kushina-sama. I'll go easy on him for the first couple of years. As for that "Chūnin Exams by twelve" crap, I can have him ready for them in six months."

Kushina turned to glare at him, "By twelve, Akutō. I won't have him doing the full-scale intensive-training thing."

Akutō nodded, "Got it, Kushina-sama. Hey kid," he addressed Naruto, who looked up at him, "Are you ready for the worst four-and-a-half years of your life?"

Naruto smirked, "Am I ready? Sure I'm ready, dattebayo!"

And with that last word, Naruto took the first step on his journey to lead Uzu's remnants into a new era.

-TCW-

The members of the Rookie Nine were sitting outside a restaurant and talking quietly about the upcoming Chūnin Exam when a voice said, "Excuse me, can you direct me to the Hokage's office?"

Sakura turned to face him, "It's the big red building, you can't miss it… hey, don't I know you?"

The boy gave a mock pout as he raised his head slightly, "I'm hurt, Sakura-chan. I've only been gone for four and a half years and you've already forgotten about me? I thought I'd made more of an impression on you than that."

Sakura shook her head and the boy sighed, "Hokage… dream… ramen… dattebayo?"

The last word got a reaction; Sakura's jaw dropped as, behind her, Ino said, "Naruto?"

Naruto grinned, "Full marks Ino-chan, nice to know that at least one of you remembers me. How ya doing?"

Ino grinned back, "I'm fine, you knucklehead. What about you? Where did you go so suddenly?"

Naruto smiled a mysterious smile, "I went home."

A snide voice came from further along the table, "So you turned your back on Konoha? Some Hokage!"

Naruto turned his attention to the source of the voice, "Ah Kibble, I wish I could say it was good to see you again, but regrettably I'm a terrible liar."

Kiba Inuzuka bared his teeth, "Watch it, Uzumaki." He moved to stand but Naruto held up a hand, "Uh uh! You can't touch me! I'm a foreign diplomat here for the Chūnin Exams."

Sakura found her voice, "Foreign diplomat?"

Naruto tapped his thumb against his headband, "Yup. I represent the Uzumaki clan and Uzushiogakure no Sato of Uzu no Kuni!"

Sakura frowned, "There isn't any hidden village called Uzushiogakure…"

Naruto shook his head, "Not really, not any more. But it was a village once. It was razed back during the Third Shinobi World War, though the armies that did it paid a hell of a cost for it."

Ino looked curious, "How so?"

Naruto looked proud, "Three hundred ANBU faced off against ten thousand shinobi from Kumo, Iwa and Kiri. All but one of those ANBU perished, but they took all but roughly a thousand of those enemy shinobi with them. Ahhh, the Uzumaki were awesome back in the day!"

Sakura snorted, "Nowhere near as great as the Uchiha, if they got wiped out so easily!"

There was a pause before Naruto said, "It cost nine thousand shinobi from three different villages to take down two-hundred-and-ninety-nine of our best fighters over a three-day period. That's a ratio of thirty-three enemy shinobi to one of our ANBU with eleven enemy shinobi falling to one ANBU on each day. From what we've heard, the Uchiha were exterminated by one single person in one single night. Still think the Uchiha are better, given both clans were almost wiped out and mine not only took a much longer time to bring down but they also fought infinitely harder before they fell?"

A dark-haired boy among the group was about to provide an angry retort when there was a soft rushing noise from nearby that drew their collective attentions as a man in long, white robes appeared nearby.

"Ah, Hokage-sama," Naruto said, turning and bowing to the man, "A pleasure to see you again."

"Naruto," said Sarutobi, "It's great to see you back. Have you been well?"

Naruto nodded, "Very well. We might want to have a talk later, catch up a bit. For the moment, I'm here as a diplomat. The Uzumaki clan is coming, intending to join with Konoha for a short time to replenish their strength. After that we will return to our stronghold in Uzu." He suddenly leaned over and checked the clock inside the restaurant, "My teammates were supposed to meet me here… where are they?" Almost on cue, two figures appeared.

One was a girl of maybe twelve, with a sheet of long red hair falling to her shoulders. Dark red eyes shone out from under a black headband emblazoned with a red gemstone surrounded by gold, with three highlights on the left side of the gem. Her headband, tied around her neck, was engraved with the same spiral symbol as adorned Naruto's.

Her body (which Sakura and Ino noted with some displeasure) was exceptionally curvaceous, outlined by a tight-fitting ankle-length black dress. A red obi tied around her slim waist added a splash of colour, matching the black and red fingerless gloves on each hand and the red-edged black cloak that hung from her shoulders.

The gilded black hilt of a sheathed sword hung at her hip, a red tassel decorating the pommel with a brooch matching the symbol on the band around her forehead. She smiled and turned her head slightly, drawing the rookies' attention to a gold earring dangling from her left ear. Again, it was the same symbol.

The other was a boy, roughly two years younger than the other two. His brown eyes scanned the group before settling on Naruto and he grinned, shaking his head so that the purple-tinted black longs hanging into his face swayed, "Naruto, shouldn't we be setting an example? This is not the time to be chatting up the pretty girls in the village- OW!" Naruto's hand snapped up and a kunai bounced off the boy's forehead blunt end first.

As he staggered back upright, grumbling; the rookies took a moment to give him a quick once-over. He was wearing a tight shirt in forest green and brown trousers. Boots and gloves completed his ensemble, while two quivers of arrows hung from one shoulder and his belt. A bow was slung over his chest and his headband was tied around his neck.

"Brat," said Naruto affectionately.

"When do you think your countrymen will arrive?" asked Sarutobi.

Naruto thought for a second, "I'd hazard a guess at two weeks from today, I was to send a summon once I was sure you had advance warning and it took us two weeks to get here."

Sarutobi thought for a second, "Hmm. I'd think we could get the Uchiha sector ready in that time…"

"WHAT?"

Everyone turned as the black-haired boy stomped out of the restaurant, "That's _my_ clan's home! You can't just give it to another clan, especially one that's insignificant compared to my own!"

"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun," Sarutobi tried to pacify the boy, "But I'm afraid that it's necessary."

Sasuke shook his head, "I refuse. They can stay in the slum district; they're probably used to that level of squalid accommodation."

There was a shocked silence as everyone gaped at Sasuke. Naruto broke it and looked over at Blaire, "Hey, where's our sensei?"

Blaire shrugged, "He said he needed to see somebody about something before meeting us."

Naruto nodded and addressed the rookies, Sasuke in particular, "You might like our sensei. I believe you might wish to be reacquainted."

Sasuke scoffed, "Why would I wish to reacquaint myself with your sensei? He's probably as much of a weak loser as yourself before the Sharingan!"

"Even after all I taught you as a child, Sasuke," a soft voice came from above their heads, "You still believe that the Sharingan makes you unbeatable? Foolish little brother…"

Naruto grinned and waved up at the man above them, "Hey, sensei!"

Sasuke's jaw dropped as he laid eyes on the speaker, "I-Itachi?"

-TCW-

"So, how did this come about?" Sarutobi asked.

Itachi shrugged, but before he could speak Sasuke got over his shock, "ITACHI! TODAY IS THE DAY YOU DIE!"

A second later he was on the ground, Naruto having just produced some kind of black staff tipped with silver and swept his feet from under him with it.

As Sasuke staggered upright again, glaring between Naruto and Itachi, they were distracted again.

A boy in an overly long blue scarf charged past them towards Sarutobi, a practice shuriken held tightly between his fingers, "Old man! I challenge yo-oof!"

Sweatdrops appeared in perfect synchronicity as the boy stepped on the end of his scarf and tripped into Sasuke. Sasuke snarled and grabbed his impromptu attacker by the collar, "What do you think you're…?"

"Unhand him, paedo-teme!" Naruto yelled, darting over and removing the boy from Sasuke's grip, absently tossing him towards Blaire and Moritaka, who caught him and set him down on the ground.

There was a shocked silence as Sasuke mouthed soundlessly for a full minute before he managed to splutter, "You… I don't…" Above their heads, Itachi's shoulders began to shake with the effort to suppress his laughter.

Naruto's expression cleared, "Oh, I've got it! You're an uke! Sas-uke-paedo-teme!"

Itachi's stoic composure failed him; he doubled over and began laughing so hard he lost his balance and fell off the roof.

The others were in a variety of states. Ino was laughing at the outraged expressions on Sakura's and Ami's faces, Shikamaru was grumbling about troublesome blondes, Shino looked impassive and Chōji and Kiba were using one another as mutual support as they laughed themselves sick.

Behind Naruto, Blaire collapsed to her knees and began giggling uncontrollably. Moritaka however was watching someone else.

The pale-eyed girl sitting inside the restaurant had been staring at Naruto with what he guessed to be her Byakugan ever since he had arrived. A slow smirk spread across the dark-haired archer's face; a smirk that signalled embarrassment and humiliation for people in his immediate proximity.

Sasuke's reaction remained blind shock for a long minute before he erupted, "HOW DARE YOU? I'M AN UCHIHA!"

"And to anyone from this village," Naruto replied, getting offensively close to Sasuke, "that might mean something. Unfortunately for you I'm not Konoha; I'm Uzu and as such you're nothing to me, just a spoilt brat who thinks he deserves everything. Now get out of my sight."

Sasuke's face went mottled puce, but before he could say anything else Sarutobi intervened. A click of the Hokage's fingers summoned an ANBU, who grabbed Sasuke and took him away.

Naruto took a deep breath as Itachi, Blaire and Moritaka walked up to him, "Alright then, are we still able to take lodgings, Hokage-sama?"

Sarutobi nodded, "Of course. I will have the Uchiha sector made ready at once." He shunshined away.

Naruto turned back to the genin, "So… how have you lot been?"

**(A/N: And thus it ends. Hope you enjoyed this new version of Wyvern, I'll see you all when I update something else. Leonineus, OUT!)**


	7. NarutoxHighschool DxD: Gremory's Fox

Gremory's Fox

**(A/N: Alright, so this was a little something I've been working on for a long time now. So far I'm on chapter four but I have resolved, after the untimely demise of _Lightning among the Stars_, to take a leaf from the book of my friend stargatesg1fan1 and not post things unless they are completed.**

**Info about this piece: it is NarutoxHarem, Naruto does replace Issei in Rias' Peerage. Issei however is still a character, so Naruto does not have Boosted Gear or any other type of Sacred Gear. He only has Narutoverse techniques and the like, as well as various bits and pieces he picks up in Rias' service. He has absorbed the Kyuubi so he technically classifies as a Kitsune but is more like a Hanyou. He will become a High-class Devil with a Peerage of his own, and he will certainly do so faster than Issei does in canon... though that doesn't exactly narrow it down given that Issei _hasn't _become a High-class Devil yet. Additionally, Naruto is already a Middle-class Devil as of the beginning of this story.**

**Anyway, I'll let the fic get on. Enjoy!)**

Prologue: The Strongest Pawn

It was late at night, outside a deserted old house.

"Alright, listen up!" Rias said, "The stray devil we're after today has been contracted because it's killing humans. Koneko, if you'd do the honours?"

Koneko nodded, turned around and kicked the door off its hinges. One by one, the Peerage filtered into the house. Rias was last, preceded only by a figure wearing an orange jacket with the hood up.

"Be wary," she murmured.

The Peerage split up, checking the rooms. Through it all the hooded figure stayed at her side, looking back and forth.

"Are you alright, Naruto-kun?" she murmured.

"Yes," Naruto replied quietly, voice deep enough to class as male, but pitched high enough that he was obviously still young, "But I think-"

"Buchō!" they heard Kiba call, "Found it- whoa!"

"Despicable," Koneko's voice came a second later, followed by a solid THWACK of flesh meeting flesh and the stray devil, lower body twisted into some hideous chimera of lizard and horse, smashed clean through the wall and bounced twice before fetching up against the opposite wall.

It struggled to its feet, revealing a man's contorted and corrupted face leering at Rias, "Lucky hit, you little bitch, but it'll be your last- ARGH!"

Kiba was next to it in a flash, sword slicing the stray's arms clean off. As it screamed and lashed out with its clawed feet, Akeno emerged from the opposite door and raised her hands.

CRACK.

The stray shrieked again, this time as lightning coursed across its body to the sound of Akeno's soft laughter.

"GREMORY WHORE!" it roared, swatting Koneko and Kiba away with its tail and sprang towards Rias, "I'LL KILL- ACK!"

Naruto had stepped in front of Rias, hands flicking through strange gestures before both hands jerked out towards the stray. A scant second later a shockwave blasted the devil clean through the roof.

The stray flew higher into the air, until something small flashed past it and its vision filled with yellow light.

Suddenly, Naruto appeared above it, a swirling ball of bluish light in his palm, and the stray watched his death approach with a soft cry of "Rasengan!"

The stray howled in anger as the attack ground into its stomach before it was launched back down and hit the ground back inside the building.

In another flash of yellow, Naruto once again appeared over the stray, two long golden tails with white tips lashing out and impaling it to the ground as another much larger ball of blue energy formed above Naruto's hand.

"For your sins, face your punishment," Naruto intoned, and then the sphere descended and reduced the stray's head to powder.

Naruto rose as Rias approached him, "Are you alright?"

"Yes," Naruto pushed back his hood and turned to face her, "I am, Buchō. Though I think I may leave the hood down in future. It makes my ears itch." One of the two white-tipped fox ears poking through his spiky blond hair twitched slightly where it had accidentally folded back on itself under the hood, before Naruto fixed it with a flick of his finger and an irritable huff.

Rias regarded him fondly. He was young, about Kiba's age, with an angular face, three whiskers on each cheek and large sapphire eyes.

"Good. I'm glad of it, Naruto-kun." She ruffled his hair.

Naruto beamed back at her, then suddenly shot his hand out to one side, catching the Hiraishin kunai he had flung into the sky, before spinning it quickly around his finger and stowing it back inside his cloak.

"Anyway," said Rias, "Good work everybody. Let's go home."

Naruto nodded and stepped up close to his King, who put her arm around his shoulders as Akeno, Kiba and Koneko came over as well. The Gremory sigil flared and the group disappeared.

-GF-

Back at the old schoolhouse, Naruto stepped up to a door and opened it, walking inside and shedding the orange hooded jacket he was wearing.

The room was filled with sports equipment, most of which Naruto himself had altered using fūinjutsu so that it could stand up to the wear and tear of a shinobi training regime.

Stepping onto a training mat in the centre of the room, Naruto settled into a practice stance and began moving through katas.

Naruto had insisted to himself that he would serve his Buchō with everything he had, and had ordered more than a dozen different martial arts training kits as well as accompanying gear off the Internet (boy had he been amazed when Yūto had introduced him to something encompassing the entire planet that contained an almost limitless access to everything!) and settled down to practice and learn them all.

"_By now," _he thought as he threw himself through the moves, "_I've studied jiujitsu, aikido and judo for moves I like. I still have karate to study, and that's just the Japanese martial arts! I have so much to learn for this mixed style I'm putting together, but…" _he paused to clap his hands, and a fūinjutsu-powered training dummy accelerated towards him, wearing a variety of armour pieces and carrying a bokken, "_I made this promise to Buchō! I will become the best for her! I will…" _his hand shot out and struck home, and the dummy exploded into splinters as Naruto's chakra-powered punch ploughed through its abdomen, only to reform thanks to its fūinjutsu array.

Clenching his fists, Naruto launched into a furious attack pattern, "_I WILL BECOME THE STRONGEST PAWN!"_


End file.
